Three, Two, One
by CatChester
Summary: When Diggle old Special Forced buddy goes missing, he asks for Oliver's help to find him, the only problem is, the last place they were seen together, was at a marriage counselling resort. Who will Oliver convince to go undercover with him? (like you don't know)
1. Chapter 1

Title: Three, Two, One

Author: Cat Chester

Rating: M

Paring: Oliver/Felicity

Cross posted: Tumbler & Wattpad

Disclaimer: Not mine; If I owned these character's, they'd be together already. No copyright infringement intended.

Spoilers: Anything up to 2x09 is fair game

Summary: When Diggle old Special Forced buddy goes missing, he asks for Oliver's help to find him, the only problem is, the last place they were seen together, was at a marriage counselling resort. Who will Oliver convince to go undercover with him? (like you don't know)

* * *

**Chapter One**

"Hey, Dig, did you find what you were after?" Oliver asked as he entered his lair, beneath Verdant. His friend had taken the weekend off, claiming he had to look into something a friend.

Oliver headed straight for the coffee machine; it had been a late night and he still wasn't quite awake.

"Not exactly," Diggle sighed. The defeatist tone made Oliver turn to his friend.

"What's up?" Diggle hadn't been exactly clear on why he needed time off and knowing that he had more than enough secrets of his own, Oliver hadn't pushed.

"An old army buddy of mine, Tom, is missing."

Oliver perched on the edge of a desk, his arms crossed, as he listened to Diggle explain.

"His sister called me before and said that Tom and his wife had gone missing from a resort near Central City, and there was no trace of them."

"Did she call the police?"

Both men turned to see Felicity as she entered, her blond ponytail bobbing with each step. She stashed her purse under her desk and turned, ready to hear the rest of Diggle's story.

"Unless I'm interrupting something private?" she continued, and Oliver realised that he hadn't even said hello.

"No, not private, I'll need your help too."

"Cool." She turned her chair around to face them and sat down.

"To answer your question, yes she did call the police, and that's where things get strange." Diggle ran a hand over his face and Oliver realised how tired he looked. "The police say that Tom and Alice never reached the retreat, and their car was found at Starling City airport."

"Okay." Oliver couldn't see where this was going.

"Tom's sister, Casey, swears he called her from the retreat."

"So where's the problem?" Oliver asked.

"The retreat doesn't allow phones and they say that a phone call couldn't have been made, given that the car was found here, the police think that for whatever reason, Tom lied about his whereabouts when he called his sister. They think he and Alice ran off, or took a vacation without telling Casey."

"But you disagree?" Oliver asked.

"I do. Casey is eight and a half months pregnant and a widow. Her husband was a marine who died in action four months ago, and Tom and Alice were doing everything that could for Casey. Even although he wasn't supposed to take a phone to the resort, he did anyway in case she needed him, and he called her every day. Casey swears that he called her when he arrived and the following morning, then nothing. When he didn't call the next day, she phoned the retreat and they said neither Tom nor Alice checked in. That's when she called the police and when It became clear that they wouldn't help, she called me."

It was a testament to the respect they had for one another, that Oliver didn't question his trust of Casey's truthfulness.

"Do you have his cell phone number?" Felicity asked. "I'll see what towers the calls were routed through."

"Well that's another thing," Diggle's shoulders hunched, almost like a schoolboy caught in a lie. "The police couldn't find any trace of him making any calls."

"It can't hurt to double check," Felicity argued, and Diggle wrote the number down on a pad, which he handed to her. She turned to her bank of screens and began typing.

Diggle turned to face Oliver, looking hesitant.

"How well do you know this Cassie?" Oliver asked. It was as close as he would come to questioning his faith in Diggle's opinions.

"Not that well. We've met on a dozen or more occasions but Tom was my friend, not Casey. He wouldn't do this though, run out on family when they needed him most."

"Then why the holiday so close to his sister's due date?"

"Well that's the thing, he and Alice were having-"

"A ha!"

They turned to Felicity

"Gotcha!"

"You found something?" Oliver asked, coming up behind her and resting a hand on the back of her chair. Diggle stood on the opposite side.

"The phone call? No, no trace at all."

"Felicity." He respected her talents and her intelligence was fearsome, he just wished she'd get to the point faster sometimes.

She had to lean her head right back to look up at him, and he had a strange urge to rub her neck before she developed a crick.

"There is no trace of a phone call having been made from this number," she repeated. "What there is, is a trace of a hacker."

"So someone hacked in and erased the data?" he asked.

"Yeah. Whoever this hacker is, he's good, so I can only think that he was working in haste to leave any trace of the hack at all."

"How do you know he's good?" Oliver asked.

"Because he didn't just delete the data from the bill, which is all most people would think to do, he erased everything, including the cell tower and GPS location data. If he hadn't left a stray line of code, even I wouldn't have believed those calls had been made."

"That's not enough to go back to the police with," Diggle said, and Oliver agreed.

"What _did_ you find out?" Oliver asked him.

Both men stepped back from Felicity and she again turned her chair to face them.

"I went to the resort, looked around, spoke with some of the guests, got kicked out, that kind of thing."

"Did any of the guests say that they knew Tom and Alice?"

Diggle hesitated. "Not exactly. I didn't think to bring a photograph and as it turns out, they give the guests nicknames. A few said that there had been a couple matching the description I gave them, but they had left after a day."

"Nicknames?" Felicity asked.

"Yeah, it's one of those new age-y type places." Diggle looked a little uncomfortable. "Alice found the place, Tom just went along to please her."

"You got a name for this resort?" Felicity asked. "If I hack into their website server, I should be able to find out what IP address is associated with the site, which I can then use to hack their personal computers. It's a long shot, but they might have something suspicious on there."

"You can do that?" Oliver sounded a little disconcerted.

"Sure. Everything you do online leaves a trace, unless you're smart like me and use a VPN, which not many people do." She looked to Diggle. "Name?"

"Turtledove Retreat."

"That's fitting, given the time of year." Felicity turned around and resumed typing, humming the 12 Days of Christmas under her breath.

"So what do you think out next move should be?" Oliver asked. "Do you want me to go back with you?"

"For a retreat, they have some damn good security, Oliver."

"In case you hadn't noticed, I'm pretty good at bypassing security," Oliver said with his usual swagger.

"I know, but what we really need here is information, and I'm afraid they'll catch us before we find anything else."

"So what do you suggest? We could book in as guests, I suppose."

"That's not exactly going to be easy either."

"Because they saw your face when you were asking questions," Oliver realised. "Then I'll go alone."

"Yeah, they don't… exactly… allow that."

"It's a couples counselling facility!" Felicity cut in, getting tired of the hesitation. She turned away from her screens. "What he's trying to say, is that you need to take someone with you. If you don't want to waste more time, I'd call Laurel now and beg; who knows how long it'll take Dig to suggest it." She turned back to her screens.

Oliver only needed a beat to absorb that information and adapt.

"Laurel can't know about the Arrow."

"You can't be the arrow there," Diggle warned. "They search luggage for contraband when you go, and your arrow costume is too big to smuggle in."

"Contraband?"

"Like the phones. They have strict rules for what you can and can't bring with you."

"Okay, but still, isn't Laurel going to wonder why I'm investigating a missing person?" Oliver really didn't like the idea of spending an extended period of time with Laurel at the moment. As much as he cared for her, he couldn't imagine pretending to be a couple with her; given their history, it was too much to ask of either of them.

"Well your options are rather limited, Oliver," Felicity snapped. "Sarah's gone, McKenna's gone, Helena's nuts and Isabel's evil; that leaves Laurel."

"I'm thinking it might be best to take someone that I haven't slept with."

"Ha!" she gave a humourless laugh. "Is there anyone in Starling City that you haven't slept with, Oliver?"

"You," he hit back.

He wanted his words to wound but instead, she turned and offered him a mirthless smile.

"Then more power to me." She turned back to her screen.

Oliver and Diggle had a silent conversation, Diggle pleading, Oliver knowing where this was heading but wanting to avoid it anyway.

"There's nothing useful on their computer," Felicity announced. "Just your typical office stuff, emails plus a little porn. It's a dead end. The computer that is, not the porn, porn seems to be an endless commodity these days."

"Felicity," Diggle said softly.

She swivelled her chair to look at him.

"I swore I wasn't going to be bait again." Her eyes pleaded with him to understand that this wasn't about not wanting to help him, it was about protecting her heart.

"I know, and I'm sorry." She knew he didn't mean for putting her in danger or at least, not physical danger. "Tom saved my life once, and I owe him."

"I'm sure he's a lovely guy, but _I_ don't owe him anything. Besides, Oliver must have a black book filled with women who would be eager to accompany him."

"But he's going to need the freedom to operate there, and you're the only woman who knows who he really is. Please Felicity, you're my best shot."

She wanted to say no, really she did, unfortunately she couldn't refuse him. Besides, she wasn't bait this time, she was Oliver's cover, so her reasons for not agreeing didn't hold water.

"All right, fine; I'll reserve us a place online now."

"Thank you, Felicity."

"My pleasure," she answered, although she sounded as though there was zero pleasure in it.

"It's a lovely place, you know, you might even enjoy it."

"Oh yeah, I'm just dying to pretend I'm one of Oliver Queen's bimbos." She muttered, loudly enough for both men to hear her.

Oliver sighed. This was going to be a long few days and if he didn't care about Diggle so much, he would probably have begged off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Felicity felt bad for snapping but she couldn't help it. There was something between them, she knew that, but neither of them would act. That could sometimes cause tension, like when he slept with Isabel, or she flirted with Barry.

Pretending to be a couple though, that was asking too much, like a cruel tease.

She knew why she didn't make a move, because Oliver was so far out of her league, it wasn't even funny. She was a match for his handsome and his intelligence but his breeding and wealth? Yeah, she would never be accepted among his people. Added to that though, were his heroics, he was like a real life Superman, while she was a lowly I.T. geek, and she could never be worthy of him.

She couldn't be entirely sure why he didn't make a move, because getting Oliver to talk about his feelings was harder than pulling teeth, but she suspected that it was because his life was easier when he didn't care too much about people. Not only had he suffered more than his fair share of loss and was probably afraid to face any more, caring too much sometimes meant you had to betray your principles and kill The Count, who threatened to overdose your resident, blonde, I.T. genius.

If he would do that for a friend, what would he do for the love of his life? Because it wasn't just killing that he was afraid of, she thought, he was afraid of himself.

Felicity had seen her fair share of vengeance films over the years, where the male hero sought the total destruction of those who had wronged him. On celluloid, the good guys didn't kill innocent people in the cross fire. Real life wasn't that neat though and if he did snap and go all Rambo on the city, he knew that innocent people would be hurt.

Felicity knew that he wasn't capable of that but it wouldn't matter how much she tried to reassure him, she knew he would never believe her.

She sometimes wished that she could show him what she saw when she looked at him. She didn't wear rose tinted glasses, she knew that he was flawed and far from perfect, but his imperfections were so minor when compared to everything else that he was. She would trust him with her life, had done, in fact.

Oliver was her hero.

Now if only he would believe that himself.

"So, we stick as close to the truth as we can," Oliver said, as they turned onto the road which led to the retreat.

"I'm not an idiot, Oliver, I can remember the cover story that we've been over three times already."

"All right, I know, I just want to make sure you're prepared."

"I think you mistake me for one of your real girlfriend's, Oliver, I actually have a brain."

She was making a lot of quips about his girlfriends and he was tempted to argue with her but somehow, he held his tongue. This mission wasn't about them, it was about Diggle's friend and he needed to be professional, no matter how much he might be itching for a fight.

Felicity handed him an ear bud and put her own in. They were tiny, flesh coloured and hand shaded, making them virtually indistinguishable from the ear canal. Felicity didn't have to worry too much, keeping her hair down would cover hers but since Oliver didn't have the luxury of long hair, she had camouflaged them as best she could.

"Are you there, Diggle?" Felicity asked.

_"I read you loud and clear, Felicity. Oliver?" _

"I'm here, Dig."

Felicity put her hand under her shirt and messed around with her bra.

"Picking up your tracker, Felicity; you're one mile from the retreat."

"Still a mile? Wow, they really do like being remote."

"And there's a hike once we get there," Oliver reminded her, just as they passed an eight foot high, chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire.

"Makes you wonder what they have to hide." Felicity said, and Oliver glanced away from the road just long enough to make eye contact.

She seemed to be adopting a professional demeanour too, so he was glad that he hadn't argued earlier.

_"Oliver, you want to turn your tracker on?" _

"It's in my shoe, Dig, I'll do it when we stop."

_"Right you are." _

Oliver stopped the car by a log cabin, then reached down to turn his tracker on.

_"I've got you,"_ Diggle confirmed.

"Then let's get this show on the road," Oliver said, getting out of the car and heading for the trunk.

There were 31 other cars in the parking lot and as he took their cases out of the boot, Felicity was ostensibly looking around but actually, was quietly reading the licence numbers out to Diggle, who would be running background checks on the vehicle owners.

"Ready, Sweetheart?" Oliver said once the cases were unloaded.

She looked at him for a beat, then nodded.

"Right, ready… darling."

They had a large amount of cases, thanks to the minimum booking being for two weeks, and the website advising them to bring casual wear, formal wear, swimwear, with optional hiking and outdoors gear, riding apparel, and clothes that could be ruined. They had covered all their bases and brought every type of clothing, just in case.

As they headed to the log cabin, someone came out.

"Hey ho, folks!" the man waved at them. "Leave your bags, I'll have them taken to your cabin for you." He held his hand out as he reached them. "I'm Mervin, Mervin Hanson, pleased to meet you."

"Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak," Oliver said, shaking the proffered hand.

"We're expecting you. Come on in out of the cold."

They left their bags and followed him inside, where they were ushered into a plush office and offered tea and coffee. The office struck the right note between modern and rustic, seamlessly blending the two to create a warm appearance, one that was clearly expensive and designed by a professional.

Hanson gave the same impression, informal but professional, wearing casual but tailored and expensive clothes. His hair was long but slicked back from his face and he was clean shaven. He looked like a posh park ranger, someone you could trust in this outdoors resort.

"Now you know we don't allow any technology, so we have to search your belongings. If would just sign this waver, we'll get started and have your bags taken to your cabin."

"All tech?" Felicity asked. "Like, everything? I thought we only weren't allowed cell phones and internet access?" She had thought about it and decided that an MIT graduate probably would argue that point.

"I'm afraid it's all technology. In our experience, technology allows couples to distance themselves from one another, even if it doesn't have internet access."

"But my tablet can't hurt anyone?"

"I'm sorry," he smiled. "Those are our rules." He held the waver out to them and reluctantly, Felicity signed her copy, once she had read it thoroughly.

When she handed the form back, he pointed at her purse. "I'll need to search that too. I'm sorry."

She handed it over and he took her cell phone and tablet from it. They would also find her laptop in her case.

What she hoped that they wouldn't find, was the tablet computer, cell phone, gadgets and dongle (for satellite internet access) hidden under a false bottom in Oliver's case, along with a few of Oliver's smaller weapons.

"Is there any way to work?" Oliver asked.

"I'm afraid not," Hanson gave an apologetic smile. "The only work we want you to do here, is on your relationship."

Oliver gave a frustrated sigh and Felicity rolled her eyes.

"Well, before we take you to your cabin, I have a few questionnaires I need you to fill in, then we'll need to take blood samples from you, then I'll give you our brochure of activities you can participate in. You'll have forty five minutes of counselling together each day, with additional one on one counselling if necessary."

"Blood samples?" Oliver asked. He noticed that Felicity had also pricked her ears up at that, so obviously it wasn't something that he had missed when he read the website.

"Yes. Some problems in a relationship can have a biological foundation, diabetes for example, can cause a low libido, and depression is both a common cause and side effect of relationship problems but either way, it needs to be treated before we can make any real progress."

It sounded reasonable but then again, if it was so reasonable, why not be up front about it on the website?

"Afraid they'll find some of your STDs?" Felicity snapped. They had decided that they would use Oliver's playboy lifestyle as the reasons for their difficulties but still, the accusation stung.

"Play nice, Felicity," Oliver cautioned.

"Don't patronise me!"

"I'm not, I just think there's a time and a place for-"

"You always say that but it is never the time or the place, according to you."

"Please," Hanson cut in. "I appreciate that you both have issues you need to confront but I would ask that you try to save them for your therapy sessions."

Oliver and felicity both turned away and pretended to relax. At least, he assumed Felicity was pretending, he still felt tense and was itching to have things out with Felicity. They couldn't do that in front of an audience however, the wrong things could be said in the heat of the moment.

Hanson handed them each a clipboard with a questionnaire and they sat down to fill them in.

There were a lot of health questions again and Oliver began to reassess his theories. Seeing the activities that the resort offered, such as horse riding, which was statistically one of the most dangerous activities you could do, he had wondered if perhaps Diggle's friend had suffered a mishap and the resort had tried to cover it up.

Now he was thinking that it could be something far more sinister.

* * *

The main resort was reached with the aid of a golf cart and was about another mile from the check-in facility. It looked like a log cabin mansion and inside, there were many rooms for activities, as well as a pool, hot tub and spa, and a ballroom (for weekly dances and competitions) which was beside the bar and restaurant. The smaller top floor, housed the therapy rooms, where their counselling sessions took place, and the offices.

Everywhere they were shown, the staff and guests looked happy and greeting them with a warm smile.

Their guide, Cindy, was a perky blonde whose effervescence dwarfed Felicity's bubbly personality. Also, in their currently tense moods, she was just a little bit annoying. Okay, felicity admitted, a lot annoying. She was pleased when the tour was over and she was driving them to their cabin.

The log cabins ringed the main house, so each had privacy. Unfortunately, Cindy insisted on showing them around that too, explaining, with very little tact, that the distance between the cabins was so that 'marital relations', (said with a nod-nod, wink-wink attitude) didn't disturb the other guests.

Felicity might have slapped her, if she didn't have more pressing matters on her mind.

As soon as they had walked in, she heard her ear bud shriek. No one else could hear it, but it was loud enough to her and worryingly, a sign of feedback.

She took hold of Oliver's hand and when he tilted his head to the side a few moments later, she knew that he had heard the same feedback, and she squeezed his hand tight in warning.

He squeezed back and showed no other signs of distress during their, mercifully short, tour.

Once Cindy had left, Oliver pulled her around to face him.

"I just want you to know, that I really want this to work, okay?" He pulled her into a hug and she was surprised by how hard his body felt. She shouldn't be, she had hugged him before, after all.

It also felt nice, which was bad, very bad. She pulled out of the hug.

"Me too. Do you want to explore around the cabin before we unpack?"

"Sure."

They left through the French doors at the rear, which led to a decked area, stepped down the three steps onto the grass and hand in hand, took a few steps towards the trees, which surrounded the property.

"You realised what the feedback means, right?" Felicity asked. She couldn't see any other reason he's say that he wanted this to work, they weren't a real couple, after all.

"The house is bugged," he nodded

"Yep. I think the bedroom and bathrooms might be clear though."

"Is there any way we can be sure?"

"One of the gizmos on my tablet can search for other signals being broadcast but if they have camera's as well as bugs, they'll see us."

"Dig, are you there?" Oliver asked.

_"I'm here, Oliver."_

"Can you patch into Felicity's tablet and see what it picks up?"

_"If she'll talk me through it." _

"I can do that," she assured him. "But you'll need to write it down now."

_"Okay." _

She explained the process as they wandered in a circle around the house, trying to look like a couple enjoying a vacation.

By the time she had finished, they were nearing the path that led to the other cabins and there was another couple walking towards them, hand in hand, looking very much in love. In fact, they were so involved with each other, that they didn't notice Oliver and Felicity until they were almost upon them.

"Hi," Oliver greeted them. "Oliver and Felicity."

"Hi, I'm Sam Menzies, this is-"

"Honey, nicknames!" His wife cut in.

Sam gave her a sheepish smile before turning back to them. "Sorry, that's the only thing that I don't like about this place. I'm Lion, this is Tiger. You're new?"

"We are," Felicity said. "Brand, spanking new. New to this resort, I mean, not new to each other. Why would we need couples counselling if we were a new couple? We'd be blissfully in love and floating on pink clouds and drawing hearts in the margins of reports and… stuff."

Sam and 'Tiger' smiled.

"How did you know we were new?" Oliver interrupted before Felicity could dig her hole any deeper.

"Aside from the fact we haven't seen you before," Tiger answered. "You're holding hands but standing about a foot apart. I give it three days before you're madly in love again."

"Really?" Oliver sounded surprised. "This place is that good?"

"It really is," Sam grinned. "We were on the brink of divorce when we came here last year."

"What brought you back?" Felicity wanted to know.

"Good memories," Tiger answered, gazing so adoringly into her husband's eyes that Felicity wanted to look away, or throw up. It was a tough call. "Now we've decided to take our annual vacation here every year, just to keep our relationship good."

"How long are you here for?"

"We only arrived on Sunday," Sam answered. "So we have another week and a half."

So they hadn't been here when Tom and Alice arrived. Still, it was good to make a friend here, any information they could learn was a bonus.

"Maybe we'll see you around." Felicity said. "Have dinner together one night, perhaps. If you want."

"That would be nice," Tiger smiled. "If you'll excuse us, we have an art lesson to get to now. Will you be taking art classes?"

"Oh, I don't-" Felicity hedged her bets.

"We haven't discussed that yet. We only just arrived; haven't even unpacked."

"Well I'm sure we'll see you around."

They parted ways and Oliver and Felicity headed back towards their cabin.

"The bugs could explain their success rate," Felicity said. "They get to see a side of the relationship that most therapists don't."

"Still, it seems a little like overkill, dontcha think?"

Felicity didn't know. All she did know was that even in their private moments, she would have to act like she and Oliver were a couple… This was going to be hell.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you to everyone who has left a review, I'm so glad you're enjoying this.

**Chapter Three**

Their bags were already stacked in the bedroom so they unpacked and, making sure that the other cases and bags shielded her as best as possible, Felicity helped Oliver unpack his case, carefully opening the false bottom and taking her tablet computer out. She switched their comms link to a different frequency to stop the feedback, then stashed the tablet in the back of Oliver's pants, where he pulled his sweater over it.

"I'm thirsty, do you want a drink?" Oliver asked.

"Depends what they have."

Oliver headed to the small kitchen by way of the living room, where he paused to admire the view. Once in the kitchen, he began opening the cupboards and fridge to see what supplies they had. There were basics, like eggs, bread, cheese and butter, as well as and wine. There was also a shop in the main complex where they could buy or order more food and drink.

"_There's one camera and microphone in the living room, it covers the view from the kitchen towards the French doors."_

"We have OJ, cranberry juice, cola, still and sparkling water."

"Cranberry," Felicity called through.

"_One more camera in the kitchen, facing the entrance."_

Oliver found a glass and poured Felicity some cranberry, grabbing a bottle of water for himself, before taking the long way back to the bedroom.

"Here." He handed her a glass.

"Thanks."

"_Bedroom seems clear. I can pick up only two cameras and one mic."_

Felicity turned Oliver around and took the tablet out of his pants. She began searching through menus until she brought up what looked like a sound wave.

"I've tapped into the mic's feed and routed it to the speakers at the Arrow Cave. I'm going to turn my ear bud off," she said very softly. "Dig, I want you to tell Oliver if you can still hear me, okay?"

"_Got it, Felicity." _

She pulled the tiny device from her ear, turned it off and handed it to Oliver.

"Where do you want your socks?" she asked, feeling a little disconnected now that she could no longer hear Diggle.

"Anywhere is fine," Oliver answered her question, while shaking his head, 'no'.

She crossed the room. "I think you should wear this to dinner tonight," she said.

Oliver shook his head again.

Felicity passed the door. "Did you look at the brochure yet?"

"Not yet." Oliver nodded and after Felicity went back to him.

He handed her the ear bud back

"As long as we stay away from the door and don't shout, we should be fine," he told her quietly.

She nodded and was about to put her ear bud back in, when his hand stilled hers. She looked up into his eyes, puzzled by his actions, and the look she saw on his face made her feel flushed.

Then he took his ear bud out, turned it off and without warning, pulled her into his arms. She felt too stunned to stop him and besides, she wasn't sure she wanted to.

This was bad on so many levels.

First, they worked together and if they broke up, she would either be off the team, or things would be very awkward.

Secondly, she already worried more about him than was healthy, if she allowed her feelings to grow, how would she cope when he was killed, and as optimistic as she usually was, she knew that Oliver would not die of old age.

Finally, he could crush her. He wouldn't mean to, he never meant to, but just look at the number he had pulled on Laurel. Yes, he had changed since that time, but he had still slept with her after telling Tommy that he wouldn't.

When it came to women, Oliver Queen was like a kid in a toyshop, always wanting more and especially, wanting what he couldn't have.

She couldn't find the will to push him away though, or even mutter 'stop', and when his lips brushed hers, she found herself wondering why she had ever even thought of stopping him; nothing that felt this good could be wrong.

It was she who deepened the kiss, she who moaned in pleasure, she who clung tightly to him. She had never been the aggressor before but then, no other man had made her feel like this before.

When he ended the kiss, they were both breathing heavily and Felicity felt lightheaded, but she still wanted more. She went to press her lips against his again when his words stopped her cold.

"I'm sorry." His voice was deeper than usual and slightly husky, a little like he sounded when using his voice synthesiser.

"Sorry?" she asked, not yet understanding, but the sinking feeling she had in the pit of her stomach, told her that this would not end well.

"I thought we should practice being a couple, we'll be expected to be close, but I should have asked you first."

"Practice…"

She quickly disentangled herself from him and turned her back, before he could see the traitorous tears that were stinging her eyes.

"Right, practice, except that right now, we're supposed to be unhappy so," she walked towards the bedroom door. "Fuck you, Oliver!" she yelled loudly enough to be heard by the microphone. The resounding thud when she slammed the front door would also help sell the act.

Except it wasn't an act. She was hurt and only anger could deaden the pain a little.

* * *

Oliver sighed and wondered what had made him do such a foolish thing. They were supposed to be here pretending to be a couple, but that kiss had been very real. Too real.

Felicity was… Felicity was amazing; stunningly pretty, frighteningly intelligent, with more courage in her little finger than 99% of the population possessed, and as sexy as hell. But then, that was the problem; she was too good for him.

Women like Isabel were all he was worthy of, women he didn't care about, couldn't care about. He didn't want Isabel to be hurt or killed, especially because of him, but he could live with it if something awful did happen to her. She was barley even a friend to him and on the few occasions when they did get along, she was more of a frenemy.

Losing Felicity would devastate him, and he wasn't sure he could recover from a loss like that. Go on, yes; he had lost a lot of people that he loved over the years and had always gone on, but recover? That wouldn't be possible.

A few minutes ago, he had put his desires ahead of his reason and not only was that unkind to Felicity, to tease her like that, it was far too dangerous for him. If he came to care for her any more than he already did, he wasn't sure that he would be able to apply reason or logic to their relationship at all.

Reluctantly, he put the ear bud back in.

"Diggle, you there?"

"_I'm here. Where were you? The feed just went dead."_

"I had to shut it off for a second. Don't worry, I'm back now."

* * *

Felicity headed to the main house intending to get a drink but instead, she found herself wanting to be alone, so she walked around the structure, needing time alone with her thoughts.

This was going to be a lot harder than she thought and added to that, Oliver was being a jerk. And not any old jerk, no, Oliver was a gigantic, humongous, jerk-face.

"I need to work on my insults," she muttered.

But she knew that what she really needed to do, was harden her heart to Oliver and find a way to keep him at arm's length, so that he couldn't hurt her again.

She still couldn't quite believe that he'd kissed her like that, then tried to pass it off as practice. A kiss like that was not _practice_ and while they were on that subject, she was not a plaything that was there to fulfil his whims!

Someone needed to teach that boy a lesson, that you couldn't just use people and play with them when it suited you and more than anything, she really wanted to be that someone. She was nothing to Oliver though, she had nothing that he wanted, nothing she could dangled before him, only to snatch away later.

She was among the top ten hackers in the world, so she could promise to do a job at some point, then say "oops, sorry, I have a date," or something, but their work was usually important, life or death important, and she wasn't so shallow that she could do something like that.

She could leave the team, of course, but she liked the work she did with Oliver and Diggle; she made a real difference to the world with them.

No, this had to be something else, something personal…

A slow smile formed on her lips.

She knew she wasn't his type, she wasn't dark haired and called Laurel, after all, but she was pretty, and she could be sexy, if she put her mind to it. He might not be able to love her, but she was pretty sure she could make him desire her, even if only for a little while.

By the time they left this resort, Oliver was going to be begging for one night with her, and she was going to refuse.

"Put that in your pipe and smoke it, buddy," she said aloud, garnering a very odd look from an elderly couple who were walking past, and making Felicity blush.

* * *

Oliver was browsing through the activities brochure when Felicity breezed back in.

"Felicity?" Her name carried with it a question, how bad was this going to be?

"I'm sorry, Oliver, I over reacted."

"No, I was in the wrong, I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

She counted back from three so that she didn't snap at him, and it took every inch of her self-control to give him a realistic smile, but she managed. "You said that already. And since we're both sorry, let's just call it even, okay?"

"You sure?" He sounded confused.

"I'm sure." Felicity strolled up to him and kissed him lightly on the lips, as if it was nothing. She ignored the fluttering of her heart and heat that pooled in her pelvis and somehow, she resisted deepening the kiss.

"So is that the activity brochure you're looking through?" She sounded bright and breezy, just the tone she was looking to strike.

"What?"

"That thing in your hand."

He looked down to the booklet, as if he'd never seen it before. "Oh, uh, yeah."

She sat down on the couch and patted the space beside her. Reluctantly, aware that there were camera's watching, Oliver sat next to her. Felicity leaned into him and took the brochure, angling it so they could both look through.

"Oh, horse riding, I'd love to try that," Felicity said. "Have you ever gone riding?"

"Uh, sure, when I was a kid."

"Do you want to sign up for it? We have to choose three activities." She was hyper aware of her body as she leaned into him or perhaps more accurately, she was hyper aware of his body. She almost jumped off the sofa when his arm wen around her shoulders but somehow she kept it together. She was a grown woman, after all, and was not going to be intimidated by anyone.

"Let's see what the others are first," he suggested.

There was also rock climbing, hiking, art classes, photography classes, a book club, Argentine tango lessons, French or Spanish lessons and cooking classes.

"How about if we pick one each, and then we'll compromise on a third one?" Oliver suggested.

"Okay, you go first."

"Cooking classes."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "It's not something I usually have time for, but I do enjoy nice food so… What's your choice?"

"Horse riding."

"Have you ever done it before?"

"No, but I'd like to."

"Don't blame me when you can't walk straight the next day," he smiled.

His comment seemed innocent enough, but she ascribed such aches to far more indecent activities, which caused some rather impure thoughts.

'_Three… two… one…'_ she silently counted.

"And the third activity?" he asked.

"Should be something we both like or want to do. French?"

"No, I always hated it in school. Photography?"

"Eh, I guess, okay."

"No, like you said, it should be something we both want to do. How about the book club?"

"Oliver, I haven't read a novel in… years so unless they're discussing The Idiot's Guide to Hacking, I'm gonna be lost." She wasn't going to mention the trashy romance books she read before bed. Besides, she was sure that no book club would be discussing the merits of The Lady and the Cowboy and even if they did, that would mean Oliver would have to read or have read it and that… was just too embarrassing to contemplate.

"Actually, me too," he agreed. "How about the tango?"

Felicity considered it for a moment. Not only was it a sensual dance, she had often wished that she could learn it and she already had some dance experience. Plus, she could wear some skimpy outfits to practice in. Yes, that could work very well for what she had planned, but she had better not overplay her hand.

"Sounds nice, but are you sure it's something you'd enjoy?"

"Men aren't allergic to dance, Felicity," he said with a warm smile, the kind that left her breathless.

"I know," she smiled, thinking that with his fitness and athleticism, he'd actually be a pretty good partner. "The tango it is."

"And now, I suppose we have to decide on these nicknames." He didn't sound enthused.

"It said something about that in the front," she said, turning to the first pages of the brochure. "Here. _'Each guest should chose a name for their partner, something that they believe represents their best self. Guests should strive to live up to their other names, to be the person their partner knows they can be. Many choose animals, matching the personality to the traits of the animal but TV and film and characters are also common, as are cartoon characters for those with a sense of humour.'_"

"Please don't call me Daffy Duck," he begged.

"Trust me, Oliver, you are no Daffy Duck. Pepe Le Pew maybe."

"You think I'm a skunk?"

"I was thinking more of his pursuit of Penelope actually," and your pursuit of Laurel, "but if the shoe fits…" Her laugh felt tissue thin but Oliver appeared to believe it.

"You're not honestly going to call me that?"

"No, I'm not. Why, what did you have in mind for me?"

"Fido."

This time she couldn't hide her offence. "You… You think I'm a dog?"

"Well, uh, dogs are loyal and faithful and obedient and-"

"Did you just call me, _'obedient'_?" she cut him off.

"Well, you're-"

"Always arguing with you, Oliver! I don't like mindless obedience and the only reason we work well together, is because we're often on the same wavelength, not because I'm _obeying_ you."

"You're right, I'm sorry, that was thoughtless of me."

Felicity huffed but didn't argue the point any further. Being seductive to this jerk was going to be a lot harder than she envisioned. Not killing him was going to be rather tricky too.

"It's a good thing you're a hard man to kill," she whispered.

"So, did you have any names for me?" he asked, ignoring her remark, although she was sure he had heard it. "Other than French skunks."

"Actually, I was going to name you, Phoenix."

"Because I came back from the dead?"

"Because you're a survivor," she answered sincerely. "You never give up and whatever the situation, you not only survive, you find a way to thrive. It's the thing I admire most about you."

He looked genuinely touched by her words, and perhaps a little choked.

"Thank you." He hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about a kitten?"

"Kitten?"

"Yeah, well they're cute and cuddly, but very choosey about who they like and when pissed off, they have wicked sharp claws."

She liked his assessment, even if she didn't want to admit it. "It's better than a dog, I suppose, but kitten, really? Not cat?"

"Cats are cynical and hardened, you're not, and I hope you don't become like that."

"That's actually really sweet."

"I am capable of that, on occasion." Oliver smiled. "It's nearly lunch time. Do you want to head up to the main house for lunch, or go to the shop and make something here?"

"Let's try the restaurant. We have our first therapy session at 2, so we might as well stay up there."

* * *

"It's just really hard dating your boss."

"I can understand that," Kelly Grange said, pushing a dark curl behind her ear as she made a note on her clipboard. "You are aware that this could be construed as sexual harassment, right?"

Oliver looked to Felicity, who sat beside him on the two seater couch. They had deactivated the comms before lunch, so Diggle didn't have to listen to their conversation but he could reactivate the link if he had news for them.

"Oh, he started dating me before I became his assistant." Felicity lied. "We'd been friends for a few months, then he asked me to join him in Europe and we started dating, which was weird at first but good and-"

"I didn't even work for Queen consolidated then," Oliver cut her ramble off, because Felicity could reveal something untoward when she rambled too much.

"No, he didn't, and his assistant just sucked, so he asked me if I could do it."

"And you're comfortable with that?" Kelly asked.

"I guess, yeah, it's just tricky sometimes."

"And how is your sex life?" Kelly wanted to know.

Oliver almost choked on his coffee. "Excuse me?"

"Your sex life, does it satisfy the both of you?"

"What sex life," Felicity mumbled.

"Pardon?" Kelly asked, although Oliver knew that she must have heard.

"Things are… slow in that department," he added.

"Slow?"

"Slow," Oliver confirmed.

"I think I'm just about the only woman in Starling City that he doesn't sleep with, isn't that what you said, sweetie?" Felicity gave him a sickly sweet smile.

"There's more to a relationship than sex, Felicity."

"True, but it's pretty important, don't you think?"

"That depends."

"Oh what!?"

"Felicity, take a deep breath," Kelly interrupted. "Conflicts are never resolved in anger."

"Three, two, one," Felicity counted.

"Have you cheated on Felicity?" Kelly asked Oliver.

"No, I haven't," he answered without thinking.

"Then why does she suspect you?"

"I don't know, maybe she's paranoid."

"Oliver, I'm an MIT graduate, I don't fabricate suspicions."

"Oh yes, and how you love to tell the college dropout that you're an MIT genius."

"Do you do that, Felicity?" Kelly asked.

"No!... Not often… Only when he wants me to take menial jobs."

"Like being his secretary?"

"Executive assistant," Oliver corrected.

"Which is just a fancy word for secretary," Felicity chimed in. "And yes, that job _is_ beneath me."

"Felicity, we talked about this."

"No, you talked, Oliver, but you didn't listen."

"What do you want me to do? You know this is the best way." Not only was he not pleased to be having this same argument again, he was worried that they would give too much away. "I need someone I can trust."

"Oliver, I… I've given up a lot for you, a little acknowledgement would be nice."

"You want a pay raise?"

"I don't need a pay raise, Oliver, I neither need nor want your money."

"Then what do you want?"

"Your respect." The catch in her voice made him realise that not only was she serious, she was hurt.

"I'm really sorry but our time is almost up." Kelly sat forward. "Please don't be disheartened, this is just the first of many sessions. For the rest of the day and this evening, I'd like to give you a task. I want you both to be affectionate, to hug, touch, hold hands and kiss, give each other a massage if you want, but I don't want you to have sex."

Felicity couldn't believe how relieved that last sentence made her.

"Why?" Oliver sounded confused.

"Because one of the things missing in your relationship, is intimacy."

"But you said-"

"Sex is just one form of intimacy and it can become a burden. I want the both of you to remember what things were like in the early days, when you couldn't keep your hands off each other, but without having to worry about the signals you might be sending, or that you're leading the other party on. Can you do that?"

"The sex embargo? No problem," Felicity assured her.

"It's not about banning sex, it's about finding other ways to express yourselves and rebuilding the trust between you."

"Okay," Oliver assured her, reaching out to take Felicity's hand and kissing the back of it. "I think I can manage that."

Felicity couldn't tell if he was serious or not but if this was just acting, he would give her a run for her money in the temptation stakes.

"I see you've chosen cooking, riding and dance for your activities. They're all good choices, I think. Are you competitive?"

"Not really. We have different skill set's," Felicity explained. "So we don't compete with each other."

"You'll be competing as couples against the other couples here. It's very informal but we find that working together and adding a competitive edge, can help couples come together to work as a team."

That didn't sound like any therapy that Felicity had ever heard of but there was a certain kind of logic to it. So far, she couldn't decide if this was all a scam, a front for something else, or if these people genuinely helped couples. The jury was still out on that but regardless, they had to play along.

"Our next session will be at 10am tomorrow, then you'll have an hour and a half cooking lesson, your hour riding lesson after lunch, and your dance lesson at 4pm. Feel free to miss a class if you want to go to the Spa, or just take some time for yourselves and if you want any treatments in the spa, it's best to book, just in case the treatment you want isn't free. If you'd like to, you should just have time to make today's dance class."

"Okay," Oliver said and after thanking her, they left.

He waited until they were outside, walking to their cabin, before he spoke.

"And what happened to my playboy reputation?"

"You said to stick as close to the truth as possible, and that lies are always more believable if they're an extension of the truth. And besides, you're the one who said you haven't cheated on me, which kind of ruins that as an excuse for our difficulties."

"Yeah," he sounded distracted. "Sorry, just slipped out."

"Now she thinks I'm paranoid. Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said, deadpan. "I do want to ask you about one thing though."

Felicity steeled herself. "Okay."

"You think I don't respect you?" he asked softly.

Surprise made her stop and she turned to face him. "Sometimes, yeah," she admitted.

"You're one of only two people who I chose to tell truth about me, Felicity."

"Not true, Sarah and Helena know too." She didn't mention Tommy, she wasn't that cruel. "And you only told _me_ because you were dying and needed my help."

"I had no choice with them either, but I was thinking about bringing you in anyway, and when you walked away, I could have let you go but I didn't, I didn't want to lose you. And if you don't believe that, who did I go to for help, even before you knew the truth about me? I think you're remarkable, Felicity, and if it ever seems like I don't respect you, or I take you for granted, I'm sorry."

She smiled. "Thank you, Oliver. For what it's worth, I think you're pretty amazing too."

He looped an arm around her shoulders as they continued walking.

"I will up your salary too, I realised that you're still earning an IT analyst's wage, not an executive assistant."

"Thanks, but I don't need the money, Oliver."

"You don't?" He gave her a questioning look.

"I'm not a billionaire but I'm not too badly off. How else do you think I paid for those upgrades to the Arrow cave while you were gone?"

"Your family is wealthy?" he was slightly ashamed to realise that he'd never asked about her family before.

Come to think if it, he never asked her anything personal and the little he did know, like her middle name, she had offered up in conversation. She never mentioned family though.

"No, but I have some investments." She smiled when he looked surprised. "It started as a hobby in college, there was a group of us and we each invested $100, then competed to see who could make the most. The stock market is basically just gambling, risk and probability, that kind of thing. My pot grew and I started adding more funds to it when I got my first job."

"So how rich are you?"

"Well, I've paid my student loans off, my apartment's nothing special but it doesn't have a mortgage, and I have just over a million invested."

Oliver gave an appreciative whistle. "Maybe we should switch places, and I become your executive assistant."

She smiled. "It's actually not that hard, I invest mostly in technology companies because I understand their products, and I got in early with a few MIT buddies whose businesses are doing well, one of them got bought out by Microsoft last year, so I made a nice profit."

"You continually amaze me."

She smiled, feeling proud that she could amaze someone like him but she didn't want to dwell on the feeling. "So, do you want to do the dance class now or wait until tomorrow?"

He checked his watch. "Let's do it now. Besides, there was a door I saw in the ballroom when we were given the tour, and I want to know where it goes."

Back on mission.

They changed quickly and headed back to the main house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Felicity hadn't brought dance wear but she had brought yoga pants and t-shirts to work out in, and she teamed it with a short, full skirt, that would fan out as she moved.

There were five couples taking the class and most were wearing exercise clothes, so she was glad that she didn't look out of place.

Oliver usually worked out in just sweat pants but unfortunately, he had added a t-shirt to the ensemble this time.

Two other couples eyed them up as they entered, looking a little hostile and clearly taking the competition seriously. The other three couples smiled and seemed welcoming thought.

Felicity got her towel and water out of her bag, then began stretching her muscles, limbering up.

She hadn't intended to appear seductive, in fact, after their chat following the therapy session, she was just about ready to forget her plan to seduce him but as she stretched, legs apart and bent double, she caught him staring at her ass, and smiled. She continued spreading her legs wider and wider as she stretched, warming the muscles that weren't usually used, until she was doing the splits, stretching her upper body alternately along each leg.

"I didn't realise you were that flexible," Oliver said, his voice sounding thick.

She didn't comment and when she made to stand, he offered her his hand and pulled her up.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Oliver." She smiled, pleased that she was having an effect on him, any effect.

The instructors, a couple in their early 30's, entered then and the man came to see them while the woman set up the music.

"You are new," he smiled, speaking with a very slight Spanish accent.

"We are," Oliver confirmed, "I'm Oliver, this is Felicity."

"I am Miguel, my wife over there is Sandra."

"Nice to meet you," Felicity offered him her hand and he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it.

"The others in the class are a little more experienced than you so if you don't mind, I will teach you this lesson and maybe next; hopefully we will get you caught up and you can join the rest of the group soon."

"Okay," Oliver agreed, although he didn't like that Miguel seemed to speak only to Felicity, and he still held her hand.

"We will start with the basic eight," he said, taking Felicity in his arms. "Oliver, you try and follow my steps."

Miguel told them where to step and after two run throughs, he added in a salida, where they paused on step five, Felicity took four steps around him, then did two front ochos at the end, before completing the final three of the original eight steps.

After practising that three times, he finally stepped away from Felicity.

"Now, you try together," Miguel said.

Oliver took her in his arms, holding her closer than he might have if Miguel hadn't been flirting with her. Although Oliver didn't need them, Miguel called out the steps.

It felt good to be holding Felicity so closely and she matched him perfectly. He suddenly wondered if she'd be the same in the bedroom, but that thought was disconcerting and rather bad for his concentration, so he tried his best to push it aside and focus in the dance.

"You can lead," Felicity sounded surprised. "I didn't know you could dance?"

"All well-bred young men can." He smiled, repeating the same set for a second time, then a third.

"A tango?"

"Well, I've never done the Argentine tango before but I have done the ballroom tango. What about you, this is more than just being… _flexible_."

She liked the way he emphasised the word flexible. Miguel called pointers out sometimes as they continued to repeat the set, 'arm up' 'point the toe', seemingly realising that these people weren't paying much attention to him, but determined to still be a part of their dancing.

"Ballet," she answered, quite content to repeat the steps as many times as he wanted. "A little jazz and tap too but mostly ballet; my mom thought I spent way too much time playing video games."

He smiled.

"All right, I think you have that mastered." Miguel didn't seem thrilled to have been side-lined but when they stopped, he didn't try to dance with Felicity again, but took them both through the new steps.

He added a cross walk with transitions, a sentada, a hook, then the sweep and the carousel.

Felicity liked the carousel best, where she stood on one foot and Oliver walked around her, turning her as he went, and the hook, where she stepped between and around his feet, her right leg between his, bending up around his right thigh. She wished that this was a proper dance studio with a wall of mirrors, where she could see if the move looked as sexy as it felt.

Then Miguel added a triple sweep, overturned ochos, a volcada and carousel combination, with a 360 degree turn at the end of the routine. Finally he taught them about adornos or expressions, times where the man stopped, allowing his partner time to express herself with her own steps.

At times, she felt trapped by Oliver's gaze as they danced, unable to look away, and the air between them appeared to sizzle with sexual tension, which was good for an authentic tango but bad for the lowly IT girl, who was already far too attracted to her billionaire boss cum superhero.

He appeared genuinely affected by her presence, but that could be acting, she knew he was a good actor.

"There, you are caught up," Miguel said, and the spell was again broken for a time. "We have two more sequences to add to the group routine tomorrow, but the main group hasn't learned that yet. Then we will teach you a variety of moves and you can choose which two to add to your routine, one after the carousel and one after the last volcada. On Friday night, you will compete against the other couples."

"How good is our competition?" Felicity asked. She had been concentrating on her steps and hadn't observed the rest of the class.

Oliver had and there were two good dancers in the group, one who was excellent but with practice, he thought that he and Felicity could kick their asses (literally and figuratively).

"You will more than hold your own," Miguel said. "But if you are worried, I can leave you a CD of music and you can use one of the smaller class rooms to practice. At least one of the other couples does that."

Oliver realised that he hadn't yet explored the door that he had seen leading off the ballroom so while they talked, he shot Felicity a look, meaning 'keep him busy' then made his way over to the door. It blended almost seamlessly with the wall, the top half covered in the same patterned wallpaper and white paint below the dado rail. Only the seam of the door and a small handle by the dado rail gave it away.

The group lesson had ended as well and everyone was standing around in groups, toweling off, drinking water and chatting. As nonchalantly as he could, Oliver strode across the hall and opened the door. He half expected it to be locked but instead, he was presented with a janitorial closet.

"Hey, you okay?" Miguel called.

Oliver turned around. "Looking for a bathroom."

"Through that archway." Miguel pointed to an archway at the other end of the hall, with a toilet sign above.

"Thanks." Oliver had no choice but to visit the rest room then and when he returned, Felicity was chatting to Sandra, while Miguel was flirting with another pretty lady on the other side of the room. Her husband didn't seem any keener on the flirting than Oliver had been.

"Oliver, this is Sandra," Felicity introduced them when he approached.

"Oliver?" Sandra seemed amused.

"I mean Phoenix. Sorry, I can't get used to the nicknames."

Sandra smiled. "Between you and me, that's the only thing I don't like about teaching here. I can put up with the hike to get here each afternoon, the remote location, the lack of cell phones but the nicknames thing? That's just weird."

Felicity grinned. "So you can't bring cell phones either?"

"Nope, we have to hand them in when we arrive too. I guess they're worried we'll let someone phone the office or something."

"Well I confess, that would be tempting," Oliver teased.

"You know, you two are very good," Sandra praised. "It wouldn't surprise me if you win this week's competition."

"You say that like you want us to win," he observed.

"Well, just between you and me, Philip over there, the man glaring at Miguel, needs taking down a peg or two."

"Is that why you're letting Miguel flirt with that woman?" Felicity asked.

"It's just an act Miguel puts on, the Spanish lothario. He says that with dancing the argentine tango, it's expected, so I let him flirt because I know he's just playing up to the image."

Felicity admired the trust they shared.

"Well, I'll see you both tomorrow." Sandra turned and left.

"What did you find?" Felicity asked as they collected their bags and headed out.

"A closet."

"That's too bad." Especially since it was the only lead they had.

"Not really. How wide would you say this room was?"

"I don't know twenty feet?"

"Twenty five." They left the ball room and entered the hallway, and from there, Oliver led her outside. "Now, how far do you think it is between this corner and the next corner?"

"Thirty feet, maybe"

"More like thirty two and even allowing for the thickness of the walls, that's five missing feet. Plus, there's a hidden door leading from the closet."

She turned and looked again. "Huh. So wait, you're saying it's smaller on the inside?" she grinned.

"Yeah. Why is that amusing?"

"It's smaller on the inside!"

He looked blank.

"Doctor Who? He's always telling people that his TARDIS is bigger on the inside?" She sighed. "Don't worry, geek joke."

"Wait, do you mean that cheap sci-fi show, the one with Tom Baker and the robotic dog?"

"Oh my god, you watch it?"

"I've seen it, but that program's ancient."

"Oh, no, they brought it back, we have a bunch of new Doctors now. Maybe you were on the Island when it came back, I can't remember offhand what year they brought it back."

Oliver smiled.

"Anyway, how do you even notice that kind of stuff?" she asked. "I would never have noticed that the room was wider outside than inside."

"Truthfully?"

"Yeah."

"Well I have trained myself to look for details but what really gave it away? I saw a keypad at the side of the closet, carefully hidden under one of the shelves."

"Okay, how did you notice that?"

"Because the overhead light was off, and there was a very faint glow from the LEDs."

"You'd be good at spot the difference," she said. "I should get you a puzzle book."

"Dig keeps one in the glove box," he smiled. "The puzzle I want to solve right now, is how do I hack an electronic keypad?"

Felicity smiled. "I think I might be able to help."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

* * *

After airing some of their grievances at the counselling session, not to mention a very enjoyable dance class, the tension between them was almost gone. Although it worried her, Felicity had liked the sexual tension between them when they danced and although she was playing with fire, she was determined to try and be sexy around him.

Plus, the counsellor had told them to be affectionate, so if she was going to be believable, she had to feel free to touch, hug and kiss Oliver, which they hardly ever did normally, even platonically.

If it had an effect, all the better but if he made a move like earlier… well she still hadn't decided how to react. Even though she wasn't mad at him any more, that 'practice' kiss earlier had put her off responding, after all, she wasn't stupid and she didn't want to be hurt again. Equally, it was kind of mean to lead him on, then rebuff him if he made a move, so she was torn.

But she wasn't an idiot; she knew that Oliver cared a lot about her, and that she could command his attention not just as his team mate and friend, but also as a woman. Any more than that, she doubted, but she knew he cared a great deal for her. He had even killed for her, after all. And like most guys, a hot body was enough to get the blood pumping away from the big brain. That was lust though, not love.

Did she want Oliver to lust after her? Well yes, she did. Any woman with a pulse would want Oliver and she may be a geeky IT girl at heart, but she was still a woman. Was it sensible however? Well no, it really really wasn't because if things went south, she stood to lose an awful lot.

She supposed they could be friends with benefits, then she'd get to be his friend and have sex with him. Yeah, that could work, couldn't it?

Then she thought about the next time he went running off to Laurel, or worse still, fell into her bed again.

Yeah, she could not be his friend and have sex with him, at least, not without getting crazy jealous when he saw other people, and the no-strings was kind of the whole point of a friend with benefits relationship. She just wasn't that type of woman, she guessed.

So maybe this wasn't about her, maybe this was about him.

She could handle such an arrangement with someone like Dig. She liked Diggle, even cared about him, a lot, but she didn't like him in _that_ way. If she slept with Diggle, it would be to scratch an itch, nothing more. She wouldn't feel insanely jealous when he dated someone else, wouldn't be tempted to hack his webcam to see what he was up to… wouldn't be secretly hoping for more.

"Felicity?"

She realised that she had paused in applying her makeup, her lipstick brush poised halfway to her lips.

"You okay?"

"Sorry, yeah, just lost in thought." She smiled at his reflection in the vanity mirror. "You can head up if you want, I just have to slip a dress on."

"I'll wait," he assured her. "Take your time."

He was already dressed. The brochure suggested making dinner an event and dressing for it, so he was in a charcoal suit with a dark blue shirt. He had left his tie off though, which she was glad of, as she didn't like his office look very much. Her favourite look on him was green leather, but that wouldn't work very well here.

She finished applying her lipstick, then pulled a dark blue dress from the closet. After checking to make sure he wasn't around, she slipped her robe off and quickly pulled the dress on, only no matter how she contorted, she couldn't pull the zip at the back all the way up. She tried, hoping and jumping, forcing her elbow down with her other hand but nothing worked. In defeat, she slipped her shoes on and headed out of the bedroom.

His eyes lit up when he saw her and he smiled.

"You look lovely."

"Thanks," she smiled shyly. "Could you do the zip for me? I can't seem to get it up. The zip, I mean not-"

"Felicity, it's fine." He sounded amused; thankfully, he usually found her verbal faux pas endearing.

He walked over and she turned around, glad that he couldn't see her face since she suddenly felt very flushed. Her breath caught in her throat as he brushed her hair over her shoulder, so it didn't get caught in the zip. Then nothing happened and time seemed to stand still.

What was he doing back there? What was he thinking? Why didn't he just pull her zip up? Was he as affected as she was? If so, why didn't he do something? Anything!

Finally she felt him take a hold of her shoulders and place a feather light kiss on her shoulder.

"Felicity…" he whispered.

Indecision kept her from replying and after another few seconds, he removed his hands and pulled her zip up.

"There."

She turned to face him and suddenly felt nervous under his penetrating gaze. She wondered if this was how rabbits felt, when they were trapped in the headlights.

"Oliver…" she breather.

"We should go," he said, looking away and breaking the spell.

"Right, yes, dinner. Good idea."

* * *

"Of all the times I've thought of spending the night with you, breaking and entering didn't enter into the equation. Not that I often think of spending the night with you, or ever really, it's just a turn of phrase but if I did think about spending the night with you, we would not be breaking and entering."

"Felicity," Oliver hissed and she ceased babbling. "And besides, it's entering but not breaking."

Oliver had overridden the alarm on the main house and they were now in the ballroom. The janitor's closet was locked this time, so Oliver was on his knees picking the lock, trying not to think how well Felicity suited the black, skin tight get up that she was wearing.

With a final twist, the lock clicked open and Oliver gestures for Felicity to enter and after a final check behind him, he followed her inside.

Felicity was already on her knees, looking at the keypad below the shelf, and he tried not to notice that her head was at just the right height for… things that were totally unrelated to this mission.

He knelt down beside her and took the small torch that she was aiming at the keypad, freeing up a second hand for her to hack into the system. She removed the face of the keypad, then plugged a cable from her phone into port she found there.

"This is used for diagnostics and to change the code," she explained and began typing into her touch screen.

"You can really do that with a cell phone?"

She smiled as she worked. "You can if you upgrade it like I did. I gave myself 50 gigs memory and a few custom apps, designed by yours truly, plus a high speed internet connection, so I can download some more gismos from our server, if I need to."

"You know, sometimes you frighten me."

Her smile widened. Programming code began to scroll across her screen and five seconds later, the red light turned green and the magnets on the door lock disengaged.

Oliver held it open while Felicity peered inside.

"It's okay, you don't need a code to get out." She unplugged her cable, reaffixed the cover and stashed her cell phone and cable in the belt pouch that she had brought. "Let's go."

"You should go back," he advised. "I'll take it from here."

"And if you encounter another door like this?"

He hesitated a moment. "All right, but you do what I say, when I say it, got it?"

Felicity nodded.

There was a light switch in the hallway but Oliver opted not to use it and the Felicity's small torch provided enough illumination to see that it came to a dead end after ten feet.

"So what now?" she asked.

Oliver was directing the small torch beam at the corners of the wall.

"It's a false wall," he said. "Including the closet and this hallway, we're only half the length of the ballroom."

"So what, we come back with a pickaxe and knock through?"

"Let's try for something more subtle first." He sounded amused and pressed his ear to the wall as he began to tap lightly on it. After repeating this three times, he pressed hard about one third of the way down on the left hand side and with a spring action, the wall popped open in hinges. Oliver pushed it open and shone the torch through.

"Stairs going down," he whispered. "Our torch is the only light, so be careful."

Since he held the torch, he took her hand and led her through, helping her down the steel steps.

At the bottom they were at another door with an electronic keypad. Oliver pressed his ear to it again.

"I don't hear anything," he told her. "But this door is much thicker than the others, so it could be soundproof."

Felicity worked her magic again, while he held the torch for her, then when the magnetic locks disengaged, he opened the door a crack.

Overhead fluorescents illuminated the space and he could see no movement so gesturing for Felicity to stay behind him, he took a throwing knife from his belt and put the small torch away.

"It's a lab," Felicity said once her eyes had adjusted to the light.

She was right, there were tables lined with pieces of equipment and computers, and a wall of cages housing animals.

"Oh god, they're doing animal testing," she said with distaste, turning away from them and heading to the first computer she saw.

Oliver could see that some of the animals appeared to be dead, rather than just sleeping.

"This is password protected and has a bi-lon encryption."

"Can you break it?" Oliver asked, coming to stand beside her, further shielding the animals from her vision.

"Sure given twenty hours and a terabyte of processing power."

"We need to know what's going on here," Oliver reminded her.

"I know!" she hissed, wary of being overheard in case they weren't alone. "Wait, I've got it." She brought her phone out. "If I connect this to one of the towers, the next time someone logs in from this machine, I can see the password and as long as the user is online, I'll have remote access to the system."

"And when he logs off?"

"We'll have the password, so no need to break the encryption."

"Good thinking. Do it."

While she bent down under the desk to open the tower, Oliver looked around. The room was about 50 by 50 foot and there were another three doors leading off this room, each with a keypad entry lock.

As much as he wanted to find out what was behind those doors though, he had a bad feeling about staying any longer. He had learned to trust his instincts, even if he didn't always understand them.

"Hurry," he told Felicity.

"I'm going as fast as I can."

He got to his knees as well, so that he wasn't immediately visible if someone came in and not thirty seconds later, he heard two sets of footsteps approaching the door they had entered through. There wasn't time to hide anywhere else, so he crawled under the desk with Felicity.

"Someone's coming," he whispered.

She replaced the cover on the computer tower but didn't have time to replace the screws, and they scrambled further under the work bench, just as the magnetic locks disengaged.

"Looks clear." A male voice said, one Oliver didn't recognise.

"Someone turned the main alarm off, we need to check everywhere."

The two men went in opposite directions, looking along the lines of desks. He and Felicity has their back to a wide machine at the end of the bench and they both prayed that it was enough cover.

Felicity let out a very low moan and Oliver grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes, willing her to trust that he would protect her.

She pressed her lips together and tried her best to remain calm.

With excruciating slowness, the men moved away, then they heard the chirps of a keypad lock being disengaged and a door opening, then another one. Oliver forced himself to remain where he was for thirty seconds, then risked peeking out.

All three of the doors leading from the room were open, but the men who had come in were nowhere in sight.

"Come on," he whispered, keeping a hold of her hand as he pulled her out from under the table.

The men searching had left every door open in their wake so getting out was quick and easy, but Oliver was still cautious, in case there were more people searching the building.

The steps and corridor back to the janitors closer were empty but there was a woman in the ballroom, carrying a high powered torch.

Oliver positioned Felicity behind him and adjusted the weight of the knife he held, getting a second one out. Now he just had to pray that the guard in the ballroom left before those searching below ground came back up, and they were trapped between the two.

Luck was with them and the guard went in to check the toilets.

Oliver pulled Felicity after him and headed to the large double doors on the other side of the room. The lock was simple and since the alarm was still off, Oliver opened it and they headed outside. The door couldn't be re-locked but he pushed it to and as he did, an alarm began to wail.

"Come on!" he hadn't released her hand so just pulled her after him as he headed for the trees, and the cover they would provide.

Oliver pulled her behind a wide trunk, just as flashlight beams began to cut through the air. He counted at least six people, although they all seemed to be looking in different directions.

"Keep low," he growled at Felicity and couching, they ran deeper into the woods. They paused a few times when flashlight beams headed in their direction, ducking behind the closet cover, usually a tree, or lying flat on the ground. They were both wearing black and would be difficult to spot against the earth.

It took longer than he would have liked to get back to their cabin and more flashlight beams joined the search but they had to go slowly, seeking an intruder, while he and Felicity were free to run when the flashlights weren't coming close.

They made it back to the cabin by circling around but that meant getting close to the searchers again. He gave Felicity a leg up into their bedroom window, then followed her moments later. As he closed the window, a flashlight bean crossed it and he jumped back. The light would reflect off the window so it was unlikely he had been seen, but he yanked his shirt off and climbed into bed. Felicity did the same, also removing her bra but holding her shirt over her breasts. They climbed under the covers, boots and pants still on, pushing their shirts under the covers, and Oliver pulled her against him, pressing her head onto his shoulder.

"Sleep," he whispered and she closed her eyes. Oliver kept his open a touch, so he was able to make out shapes, such as the two that appeared at the window, looking in.

Only when they moved away did Oliver let out the breath that he'd been holding.

"Have they gone?" Felicity murmured.

"Stay put," he ordered, just in case anyone else came looking. His arm was around her and he softly traced patterns on her back, soothing her as best he could

As the adrenalin faded and he began to relax, he realised that Felicity's breasts were pressed into his chest and side, and that thought aroused him. He prayed she didn't notice.

Fifteen minutes later, her regular and even breathing let him know that she was asleep and an hours after than Oliver finally drifter to sleep. Another two people had looked in the window and it was possible that more would come while they slept, so he chose to remain in the same position and didn't wake Felicity.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review. I'll try and keep the updates coming regularly.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Felicity awoke to Oliver thrashing beneath her, clearly in the throes of a nightmare.

"Oliver? Oliver!" She grabbed his shoulder and shook it, only to be met with fist hitting her solar plexus, propelling her onto her back and stealing her breath. Oliver was a top her, the hand she had been shaking him with pinned above her head, his other hand at her throat, holding tightly but not strangling her. He was glaring at her but not seeing her.

"Oliver!" she croaked, but hardly any sound came out.

Being rough hadn't worked so she raised her other hand and cupped the side of his face, brushing her thumb over his cheekbone. She was able to breathe a little now and tried again.

"Oliver."

He stilled, and the fog seemed to lift as realisation dawned in his eyes.

"Felicity?"

A moment later he realised that he had her pinned to the bed and literally launched himself off her, going to stand by the window with his back to her. It was only just getting light outside and she couldn't see well enough to read his expression.

As she sat up, she realised that she was topless and her cheeks flamed as she pulled the covers up. She didn't know what had appalled him more, the fact that he might have hurt her, or the fact she was semi-naked below him. The latter wasn't good for her self-esteem.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"Where were you?"

"Where do you think?"

"Are you okay?"

He glanced around and seeing that she was covered now, turned to face her. "Shouldn't that be my question?"

"I'm fine. Your turn."

"I'm okay."

"Really? Because you're covered in sweat and still panting. It takes a lot for a dream to do that."

"I'm fine, Felicity, leave it alone."

She sat there stunned for a moment, both by his cold reaction and the fact that she was still a little breathless.

"You can use the bathroom first," she said, but it was more of an order than a request.

He looked like he was about to argue, until she pulled the sheet higher. She felt vulnerable, more than just half naked vulnerable, and she wasn't about to move from the bed until he had left the room.

Once she heard the lock click, she dashed for her robe and only once it was tied around her, did she remove her shoes and pants. She collected her clothes and underwear for the day, then sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for her turn.

Despite the close calls and danger of last night, not to mention the embarrassment she felt with her breasts pressed into his chest, it hadn't taken long for her to relax and she remembered feeling utterly secure as she lay in his arms. She wasn't a damsel in distress who was looking to be rescued but the fact was, out of necessity, she sometimes put herself in some dangerous situations, but she only did so because she had faith that Oliver and Diggle would protect her. Sleeping in Oliver's arms was the equivalent of sleeping in a warm and snuggly panic room (if there was such a thing) literally surrounded by protection.

Waking up with him however, couldn't have been more different.

It wasn't the nightmare or his striking her, it was the way he had shut down or perhaps more accurately, shut her out. It stung, especially after they had been working so well together.

When Oliver emerged, his hair damp and a towel around his waist, she was idly rubbing her chest.

"You're hurt," he said, immediately coming to kneel in front of her. He made to open her robe but she grabbed the edges in her fist to stop him.

"Oliver!"

"I just want to see if you're bruised."

"I'm fine." Or she would be fine, if he would just put a damn shirt on. Honestly, sometimes she wondered if he was allergic to upper body clothing.

She pushed past him and hurried into the bathroom, closing and locking the door with more force than was strictly necessary.

* * *

"Sometimes… it's hard for me to open up to people," Oliver said. "There's a lot of… bad stuff in my head."

"Bad memories?" Kelly asked.

"Not just memories," he admitted and although he wondered why he was telling her so much of the truth, he felt compelled to answer with as much honesty as he could. "The island changed me."

"I can understand that," Kelly nodded. "But I think you need to learn to trust people. You'd be surprised how much people the who love you can handle."

Oliver gave a sardonic laugh. "Yeah, well even without the island, when you realise that your parents were involved in something so awful that it got your father and nearly you killed, and turned your mother into a mass murderer…" he didn't think he needed to finish that sentence.

This seemed even outside Kelly's experience and she didn't respond.

"It's not as bleak as he's making out," Felicity butted in, feeling bad for even having brought this up now. "He does trust people, he's just very selective about who he trusts."

"Are you one of the people he trusts?"

"I think so."

"But you say he has trust issues?"

"Maybe I was wrong, maybe he just has issues, period."

"So what issues do you think stops him from confiding in you?"

Felicity looked to Oliver, seeking permission to continue.

"You can be honest," he told her. "I'm interested to hear your theories."

"Do you often seek his permission?" Kelly asked.

"I do when it's something to do with him. I don't tell other peoples secrets, not without their permission."

"Could have fooled me," Oliver muttered.

"You were unconscious!" she snapped. Were they still having that argument?

His expression reminded her that they were close to revealing important secrets so she knew she had to cover. She looked to Kelly.

"He was in an accident and I authorised a procedure," she turned to Oliver, "_that saved his life_." She turned back to their therapist. "So maybe I do make exceptions, but only in exceptional circumstances and you'd think that by now, he might trust me a little more."

"Felicity, I do trust you."

"Selectively, Oliver."

"It looks like we've come full circle," the therapist noted. "So do you feel like sharing your theories with me, Felicity?"

"Well… I think part of the problem, is that he's a control freak."

"Do you think that's a fair assessment, Oliver?" the therapist asked.

Oliver considered his answer. "It's not unfair but what you have to understand, is that…" he chose his words carefully. "The decisions I make change lives." He was talking about his vigilante activities but he had to couch it in terms of his business. "I employ thirty thousand people and if I make a bad decision, people lose their jobs, their homes, their pensions." _'Their lives,'_ he added silently.

"Wouldn't it be easier to share that responsibility?" Kelly suggested.

"No. The buck stops with me, I'm the one who makes the final decision, I'm the one who has to live with that decision, that's why it has to be _my_ decision."

"Do you listen to other opinions?"

"I do, but in the end, I have to do what I think is right."

"Felicity?"

"He's right, mostly. Sometimes he doesn't want to listen but I can usually get through to him, eventually."

"She, uh, she's certainly tenacious," he agreed with an amused smile.

"And what's the other part of the problem?" Kelly asked Felicity.

"The other part?"

"You said that being a control freak was 'part of the problem'."

"Right. Well I guess the other part is what happened on the island. He never talks about it unless he has to."

"And what's your theory on that?"

"I think its two fold. Sometimes I think he's trying to protect people from what happened on the island and sometimes… I think he's trying to protect himself."

"What was so bad?" Kelly directed the question at Oliver.

"I wasn't alone on the island, not at first. I had terrible things done to me and… I had to do terrible things to survive."

"Have you ever had counselling to help you come to terms with your experiences?"

"No, I… No."

"Those memories are painful then?"

Oliver acknowledged her with a curt nod.

"Oliver," Felicity reached out to take his hand. "I understand that there are some things you don't want to remember, and I don't want to force you to but I want you to know, there is nothing you could tell me that would scare me off. I've seen the worst of you."

"No you haven't."

"Then trust in me, trust that I know the real you and no matter what you tell me, it won't change how I feel about you. Ever."

She raised his hand to her lips and kissed the back of it, her eyes willing him to believe her.

Oliver placed his other hand over hers.

"I want to believe that's true but if I can't forgive myself, how can I expect anyone else to?"

"Remember what Sara told us, about the things she did? I forgave her and I hardly know her. What could you have done that would be worse than what she told us? Besides which, I already know how great you are, Oliver, so you already have a huge advantage over Sara."

For a moment, he looked as if he believed her. Then his usual guarded expression returned and she knew that, for now at least, she had lost him again.

"How do you feel, Oliver, when Felicity asks about your time on the island?"

Oliver looked to the therapist, then to Felicity, then to the coffee table.

"I feel like she wants to fix me," he admitted.

"Judging by your tone, that's a bad thing?" Kelly noted.

"Some things can't be fixed," he told her. "It doesn't matter how much you want it."

"But you can heal."

"The scars will still be there. Some things can't be undone."

Felicity was smart enough to realise that he wasn't talking about his actual scars, although they were a good metaphor. She squeezed his hand, willing him to look at her and she waited until he did before she spoke.

"Oliver, twenty percent of your body is covered in scar tissue. You've been stabbed, shot, burned and god knows what else."

The pain in his eyes made her want to stop but she knew she had to press on.

"But your body is in better shape now than ever before, right?"

He didn't acknowledge that she was right but she could see in his eyes that he didn't disagree.

"It might take work, it might be a little harder for you than for other people, but you can have a happy life, Oliver, and you deserve it. You'll never be the carefree boy you once were but honestly? He sounds like kind of a jerk. The man you are however, he's… well he's wonderful."

Oliver felt choked and it was all he could do to nod that he understood.

"Well, I think that's a good place to stop for today but before we wrap, how did you find being affectionate? I notice that you're sitting closer together today, and you've held hands for most of the session, a definite improvement on yesterday."

As though she had only just noticed, Felicity pulled her hand away, as if she had been scalded.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel self-conscious. I'm going to ask the same of you overnight, be affectionate but no sex. I'd also like you to both consider one on one counselling, especially you, Oliver. I think you might be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder."

"There's no treatment for that," Oliver said, his barriers firmly back in place now.

"You've done some research into the condition then?"

"I'm a control freak, of course I have," he replied, deadpan.

"Well, while it's true there is no cure, treatment can help you to better live with the condition, and medication can help with the effects."

"I don't need anti-depressants or sedatives, thank you."

"Not even to help you sleep."

Oliver's gaze shot to Felicity as he wondered if she had told Kelly about his nightmare and attacking her this morning, but he knew logically that she hadn't had the opportunity.

"That struck a nerve, didn't it?" Kelly asked.

"Nights can be… difficult, but I don't need medication, not even to sleep." He had considered asking for sleeping pills but after he had attacked his mother when she tried to wake him, he had feared taking them, because if they make it harder for him to wake up, he might do some serious damage.

"And the therapy?"

"I'll consider it."

Kelly didn't look like she believed him any more than Felicity did.

* * *

"What do you say we skip cooking class and go for a walk?" Oliver said as they left the counselling session.

"Uh?" She wasn't sure she could take any more talking.

"See what Diggle found." He added quietly.

"Oh, yeah, good idea. And anyway, I have a fantastic recipe for a microwavable chocolate muffin in a cup, that is all you'll ever need to know about the culinary arts."

He actually smiled. "Well in return, I can teach you to spit roast a pheasant over an open fire."

He had made a joke about the island, an actual, honest to goodness, joke. "Deal." She wanted to say more but knew that drawing attention to that fact might make him self-conscious about bringing it up in the future.

"We'd better stay in sight of the main house though," Felicity said as they exited the building. "After last night and given all the additional staff milling about this morning, they'll be looking for suspicious behaviour."

They discreetly turned the ear buds on and put them in.

"Diggle, you there?" Oliver asked.

"_I'm here Oliver."_

"Did you find anything from the licence plates?"

"_Not much. By cross referencing the owners with the data Felicity pulled off their computer, seems like most of the vehicles belong to guests. Five belong to staff members and another five are registered to the company who own the resort, Freemont Holdings." _

"Anything suspicious?"

"The usual, parking tickets, a few juvie records, nothing serious. Obviously I can't find out who's driving the company vehicles."

"And I already ran background checks on the staff mentioned on the website." Felicity reminded them.

"So that's a dead end," Oliver sighed. "Were you able to find anything on Freemont Holdings?"

"_Felicity's search keeps digging up new data but nothing untoward. They have holdings all over the world but the worst I can find is a suspicion of tax evasion, since they have bank accounts in the Cayman Isles."_

"And what is their business, exactly?"

"_All sorts, they own property, have interests in insurance companies, investment companies, banks, retirement homes, healthcare, you name it."_

"What about the people behind the company?" Oliver asked. "Who's on the board of directors?"

"_It's a private company so that information isn't public. The only positions on record are the company secretary, one Mason Daily and a director, Martha Freemont. Both have clean records."_

"So it's a family company then."

"_Looks that way. I'm trying to find out who the family members are but Martha Freemont is English and I think Felicity's programs need a little tweaking before it can search British records." _

"I'll get on that as soon as I have a chance," Felicity said.

"_What did you two find out last night?"_

"Not much, we were interrupted, barely got away clean. It seems to be some kind of laboratory, looked like they had animals down there, possibly for testing. You said they had interests in healthcare companies?"

"_Yeah." _

"Dig up whatever you can on those companies."

"_Will do. Are you going back?"_

"Seems like they've upped security so I doubt we'll get a chance. The good news is, Felicity also installed a bug on one of the computers, so we'll see what we can find on there."

"_I thought Felicity had already hacked their computers before you left." _

"That was their office computers," Felicity explained, "which were innocuous. What was underground was a whole other system and from what I could see, not online."

"_You sure they won't pick up your bug, Felicity?"_

"Not sure, no, but given the ban on technology here and the lack on internet access on that system, I'd say they probably feel secure enough not to check."

"Hopefully that complacency will work in our favour," Oliver added.

"_And if it doesn't?"_ Diggle asked.

"Then we'll find another way."

"Let's stop by the shop and see if they carry aromatherapy oils," Felicity suggested.

Oliver gave her a questioning look. "And what? Booby trap the hallways so the bad guys slip to their deaths?"

"So that I can rub you," Felicity glared then shook her head when she realised what she had said.

"_Oh, that is way too much information! I'm cutting the comms link until I have something for you."_

"No, wait!" but he had gone, so she silently counted back from three before continuing. "What I meant is, pretend to rub you- I mean, pretend to give you a back rub- a massage, like the therapist suggested or rather, pretend to, so that I can check my bug."

Oliver tried not to smile too widely. Her verbal diarrhoea usually amused him.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed.

* * *

"Oh, that feels so good. A little lower, lower… oh yeah, right there. Mmmm."

Felicity glared at Oliver.

"This isn't helping my concentration," she hissed.

They were both sitting on the bed, side by side with their backs against the headboard. Felicity had her netbook open on her lap as she browsed the laboratories computer system.

"Besides, the mic shouldn't be able to pick us up from here."

"Just in case," he whispered, giving her a wink. "Oh, that's so good!"

Felicity elbowed him in the ribs.

"Yeah, baby, ohhhh."

"Dig, you there?" Felicity decide that if she wasn't going to talk him out of it, so she was just going to pretend it wasn't happening.

"_Unfortunately, yes."_

Oliver froze for a moment, not realising that Diggle had heard every word.

"I'm going to be sending you some coded files. The encryption is good but not great, so my standard programs should be able to break it. When you get them, highlight them all then right click and pick 'open with', then choose the FMSDEC program. It'll beep three times when the program finished decoding each document."

"Just writing that down," Diggle assured her. "What do I do then?"

"Email them to me and I'll go through them. It'll give me something to do while lover boy practices his audition for When Harry Met Sally."

"Oh yeah, baby, right there, harder." He wasn't about to be shamed into stopping and his smile widened into a grin as her blush deepened.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: There was going to be a plot point to the Ollie/Oliver use in this fic, something that would be explained later but so many people are complaining that it's just too OOC, so I have decided to drop it and have changed all references from Ollie to Oliver.

**Chapter Six**

Felicity stormed back towards their cabin, or at least, she would like to have stormed. As it was, all she could manage was a hobble.

Oliver offered to carry her back but she flatly refused, so he followed her slowly, just in case her ankle gave out on her. When they were about 50 feet from the house however, he couldn't stand it any longer and swept her into his arms, carrying her inside, bridal style.

"Oliver, put me down! Oliver!"

He didn't, until they were inside, when he placed her on the sofa and knelt before her. Gingerly, he pulled her boot off, causing her to hiss in pain, then rolled her sock off. The ankle was swollen but not bruised. Gently, he began to touch and flex the joint, asking her what hurt.

"I don't think it's broken," he finally declared.

"Thank you for telling me what I told you fifteen minutes ago."

He looked confused by her anger, and a little hurt but before she could apologise, he was up again.

"I'll get you some ice."

He left, presumably to get what he needed from the main house, and Felicity sagged into the sofa.

She had been really looking forward to learning to ride but none of the films she had ever watched, showed the rider being dragged twenty feet by the stirrup. Horse riding was not as romantic as the movies made it out to be, and her disappointment was palpable.

Plus, she had made a fool of herself in front to the man who thought nothing of jumping from building to building.

And if that wasn't bad enough, her ankle was bloody painful, but how could you complain about a sprained ankle when the man taking care of you regularly got beaten, shot and half killed?

Determined to keep going, she removed her other boot, got up from the sofa, balancing on her good right leg, then hopped and hobbled into the kitchen for a glass of water. She was slow though, and had only just got a glass out when Oliver returned.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I was thirsty."

"You should have waited for me."

"I can manage, it's just a sprain and believe me, I've had worse."

He ignored her and picked her up again, depositing her back on the couch.

"Oliver! I am not some toy that you can cart around!"

"No, you're hurt and refusing my help."

"Oliver, it's nothing! How many times do I have to say that before you believe me?"

"How many times do you believe me when I tell you I'm fine?"

He had a point. "But you…" Her words trailed off as she remembered the cameras and microphone.

"Let's get you set up in bed," '_where we can talk freely,_' he silently added.

Felicity agreed, and gave in with good grace when he carried her through and laid her on the bed. He left for a moment and she arranged the pillows behind her so she could sit upright. She was just leaning back when he returned with a bottle of water and an icepack. He placed the icepack on her ankle, then handed her four pills and the water bottle.

"What are these?"

"Tylenol and Advil. Trust me, it's safe."

"I know," she took the pills and swallowed them with water, while he went around to the other side of the bed and lay across it, facing her, with his back to the baseboard. In a thoughtless but surprisingly intimate gesture, he put his elbow between her knees and rested his head on his hand.

"So, do you want to tell me what has you so grouchy?"

"I'm not grouchy!"

His look asked if she was serious and her resolve crumbled.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, just tell me what's wrong?"

"I mean, I'm sorry I got hurt. Not that I'm not sorry for snapping at you too, I am, but I'm supposed to be here to help you. And you take all sorts of crazy risks and do silly things and come back with real injuries, and you don't let it slow you down. I can't even have a riding lesson without some kind of bodily injury. I suppose I should just be glad the horse didn't kidnap me or something."

By the time she had finished, Oliver was smiling at her.

"Felicity, I don't expect you to do what Dig and I do, we're both highly trained."

"I'll bet even most untrained people don't slip off a horse when it trots."

"Maybe, but most people can't hack the FBI database either. So you and horses don't mix, I didn't invite you to join us so you could go riding with me and if horses are ever required on a job, we'll just use carriage horses instead."

That finally raised a smile. "We'll miss our dance class."

"As long as you rest up, you'll be fine by tomorrow."

"You could probably still go and dance with Sandra." Sandra was beautiful, tall, dark, with legs up to her neck, just Oliver's type, and Felicity found herself hoping he'd say no.

"If I can't dance with you, there's no point. Besides, with the increased staffing levels, I won't be able to get another look around any time soon."

"Okay, if you'll hand me my netbook, I'll see what Diggle has sent."

* * *

"Do you have an ETA on the other files?" Felicity asked Diggle.

"_Your program says two hours seventeen minutes." _

"It's a little optimistic, so it'll probably be three until we have all the documents decrypted."

"_I'll send them through as they do,"_ he assured her.

"Thanks, Dig."

"Anything?" Oliver asked, returning to the bedroom with two mugs of coffee.

"I'm having to google a lot of these terms as I go so I can't be sure yet, but it looks like they're involved in some kind of gene therapy."

"Gene therapy?" he placed her mug on the night stand and took his place on the other side of the bed.

"Yeah. Some conditions are caused by faulty genes, like colour blindness. It's more common in men because they don't have a spare colour blindness gene on their Y chromosome, while women need two defective genes in order to be colour blind, but there are a lot more serious conditions that can be caused by faulty genes and the cutting edge of medical research is trying to use retroviruses to implant a good gene into cells. There's also hope that one day, such therapies could wipe out some diseases, like the man who can't catch AIDS. If the gene that made him immune could be implanted into everyone's DNA, then we'd all be immune."

"That's really possible?"

"My knowledge of gene therapy is limited to 60 Minutes and Scientific Showcase magazine, which is to say, limited at best but yeah, doctors seem to think it's possible, or will be, one day."

"Do you know what they're trying to treat or cure here?"

"No."

"Will the rest of the documents tell you?"

"Maybe... I, uh…"

"What?"

"Well, even when I have the rest of the documents, this medical jargon goes way over my head but I was thinking… there is someone who might know, or be able to find out what this y-cdLM gene does."

"You can't find that out?"

"The genome isn't even fully mapped yet, Oliver and even if I could hack using just a tablet and a netbook, there are dozens of different companies, each mapping different sections of the genome."

"So you want to send it to Barry?" He guessed, trying his hardest not to ball his hands into fists as he spoke, but he couldn't stop his jaw from locking.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "He does work as an Assistant for Central City PD CSI, as long as he'd not asking for proprietary data, which he isn't, an enquiry from him will likely be answered."

"Fine."

"You don't mind if I send him some of this data?" she asked, needing to be sure. Oliver was still mad that Barry had learned his secret without his permission.

"As long as he can keep his mouth shut about why he's asking, and he doesn't contact any companies who are owned in whole or in part by Fremont Holdings."

Felicity nodded; she had intended to make those stipulations anyway.

"Thank you."

But before she could even open her email, someone knocked on their cabin door.

They shared a worried look and Felicity put her tablet onto sleep mode and pushed it under the covers, while Oliver went through to see who was knocking. He returned few moments later with a middle aged man and judging from the shirt he was wearing, what looked to be a staff member, although he acted more like a bodyguard.

Neither Oliver nor Felicity missed how the staff member looked around the room as he came in, checking for entrances and exits, much like a cop might.

"They called a doctor to check you over," Oliver explained as he came in, his expression telling her to be cool.

"Oh, that's really sweet but not necessary, it's just a sprain, really."

"Honestly, it won't take a second," the doctor told her.

"I'm Felicity, Felicity Smoak."

"Donald Halifax."

Oliver smiled at her ingenuity, he was planning on asking for a business card before the doctor left but Felicity had got his name without arousing suspicion.

"_Checking the name now,"_ Diggle said over the comms.

Felicity had also looked to the man with him, wanting to know his name, but he just grunted what sounded like "Chad".

Oliver took his place beside her again and was pleased that when the doctor removed the icepack, Felicity's ankle was still visibly swollen. He didn't want her to be in pain but considering that they had checked in on the day of the burglary and today, had missed two of their classes, he couldn't blame the resort for being suspicious of them.

The doctor began to palpitate the ankle, much as Oliver had done and when she hissed, Oliver took her hand so she could squeeze it. She looked over and smiled at him, and he felt his heart skip a beat.

Suddenly he realised that he had put her in the line of fire. This doctor likely worked in the secret lab under the resort and if he or his thug became suspicious, Felicity couldn't even run away at the moment. He shouldn't have asked her to come with him, he should have found another way.

But without her, he'd have nothing but what he had seen in the lab, and that wasn't enough to give him any clues as to what was going on here.

While the doctor examined her and asked questions, the bodyguard stood behind him, fixing Felicity and Oliver with a blank stare, in between looking around the room.

"Have you taken any pain medication?" the doctor asked.

"Uh, yeah, Oliver gave me some Tylenol and Advil."

"And you got this while riding?"

"Yeah," she sounds reluctant to admit it.

"The horse dragged her a little ways," Oliver added, earning him a glare, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

"Do you have any other cuts or scrapes?"

"No. I'll probably have some bruises but Oliver made me wear long sleeves and a crash helmet."

"They call it a skull cap or riding hat." Oliver corrected, amused by the image of her horse riding in a motorcycle helmet. His amusement faded a moment later, when he wondered what it would feel like if she were behind him on his bike, holding tightly as he accelerated.

"Whatever, Lone Ranger, you can be sure I will not be asking to borrow Tonto any time soon."

Oliver smiled.

"_I've found a Dr Donald Halifax listed as working as a lecturer and researcher," _Diggle said over the comms link. _"He worked for the university in Central City until five years ago. No employment records after that."_

"Are you the resort doctor?" Oliver asked.

"I'm retired but I am the on-call doctor for the resort."

"_He was part of a team looking into Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, whatever that is." _

Felicity squeezed Oliver's hand to stop him for asking anything more, she knew what that syndrome was and would fill him in later.

Oliver looked at her, surprised to realise that he could tell so much from one, brief squeeze.

"Well, you're doing the right things, keeping it elevated, iced and resting," Halifax told them. "I'll leave a support bandage but the swelling isn't too major, so I'll leave it up to you if you want to use it to not. Try to stay off it this evening but light exercise should be all right tomorrow."

"Thank you, Doctor." Felicity smiled at him.

"Not a problem. Do you have more painkillers?"

"I got them from the shop," Oliver said.

"Good."

"Do you have a card, in case we need you again?" Oliver asked.

"I don't I'm afraid, not since I retired but if you have any worries, let reception know and they'll call me, but I don't anticipate any problems."

Oliver got off the bed to see them out and as he was the last out of the door, he saw Felicity literally sag as they left. She had seemed so natural that he hadn't realised how tense she was.

When he returned, she had her eyes closed and her head resting against the headboard.

"Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Did you know that most animals life expectanct is determined by heartbeats? They get one billion and when that's up?" she crossed her throat with her finger to mine dying.

"I didn't know that."

"Well they do, and I'm quickly using mine up."

"Don't worry, your medical coverage is the best money can buy."

She smiled at this teasing.

"How do you do it? I mean, last night and then pretending that nothing was wrong and that those men weren't checking us out and lying to us? You must be some kind of adrenalin junkie."

He shrugged. Honestly, he didn't feel much fear these days or at least, not as much as he should, not for his own safety anyway.

"Well, you hid your nerves well, both last night and just now."

"Yeah, well. I'm just glad he didn't take my pulse." She pulled her tablet out from under the covers. "I'll send those documents to Barry now."

When she had finished, Oliver was waiting to talk to her.

"So what is the Hutchinson-Gilford Syndrome?"

"It's normally just called Progeria, it's the condition that causes children to age rapidly. It's rare but always fatal, with children usually dying on their early teens, at the latest."

"So what could that have to do with what's happening here?"

Felicity was typing on her tablet. "Well the gene involved in progeria is the LMNA gene, it builds an abnormal protein which causes misshapen nucleuses. I can't seem to find out _why_ that causes ageing though…"

"Could this y-cdLM gene be related to the LMNA gene?"

Felicity looked up at him. "I don't know. I'm not a geneticist. Educated guess, yeah, probably."

"_The doctor had tenure, so it would take a pretty sweet deal to tempt him away,"_ Diggle said, causing Felicity to jump a little, having forgotten he was still listening.

"Hopefully Barry knows something or can find something out, then we'll know more."

Oliver nodded but his attention was elsewhere.

"Oliver?"

"We're missing something." He was looking out of the window, seemingly searching for something outside.

"What?" she and Diggle asked together.

"Why here?" he turned to face Felicity. "You can set up a lab anywhere, why put it in the middle of nowhere? Why underground? They could just buy a warehouse in the city, which would make almost everything a lot easier."

Felicity nodded her head, agreeing with his reasoning but unable to make sense of it yet.

"_What about the blood they took?"_ Diggle asked.

"I was wondering the same thing. What if they need people?"

"What for?" Felicity asked.

"No idea," Oliver shrugged. "But I do know that from our cabin, you can't see the neighbouring cabins, or the path that runs through the resort."

"Is anyone else getting a horror movie vibe right now?" Felicity asked. "Lonely cabin, surrounded by woodland and murky happenings? It's like The Hills Have Eyes or something."

Oliver nodded distractedly. "That's not a bad parallel."

"What? You're supposed to tell me I'm being silly or overreacting or something!"

"Well, our cabin is a lot nicer than the one in the film, and I don't think we're after radiation poisoned mutants."

"Well technically, if they did develop a gene therapy, that would be a mutation, so we're after people who make mutants. And if that's true, oh god, I'm blonde and they tend to go first, plus I can't run! All I need to do is sleep with you and I'm basically guaranteed to be killed in some gruesome and horrific way!"

"Well, as disappointing as that will be, I'll try and keep my hands off you." Oliver looked positively gleeful.

Felicity glared at him.

"_Whoa!"_ they heard Diggle say.

"Oh, like I haven't said worse," Felicity snapped.

"_No, not you, Felicity, your internet search just spat out some… interesting results."_

"What kind of results?" Oliver asked.

"_It seems that Tom and Alice weren't the only ones who didn't make it to that resort. I've got two articles that mention couples on their way to there."_

"Why didn't the police put it together?" Oliver asked.

"Probably because they come from all over; my friend if from Starling City, Martha and Kevin Smyth were from San Francisco, and the Lieberman's from New York and according to the articles, the couples never arrived. Felicity's internet search turned up these newspaper articles by searching for the term, Turtledove Resort."

"Well, given that it's couples counselling, it's a fair bet that there are a lot of cases where the family didn't tell the newspapers about the resort, or at least not by name," Felicity added. "I'll adapt the search," Felicity said as she began typing on her netbook. "I'm widening it to include couples who disappeared while on their way to a resort near Central City or on their way to a vacation in this state. We'll get a lot of unrelated results, but I'll rule out any where one partner survived."

Sounds good," Oliver noted.

"Can we can rule out any cases where the bodies were later found?" she asked.

"I wouldn't yet," Diggle cautioned. "We don't know what's happening with these couples but unless they're John Wayne Gacy part two, they probably aren't keeping the bodies."

"There's a lot of land here, private land," Oliver said. "They could easily hide a hundred bodies here."

"I'll pull up a topographical map and overlay it with satellite imaging," Felicity explained. "We can see if there are any likely dump sites."

"Good idea." Oliver nodded. "I'll check the locations out after dark."

"With all this extra security? Is that a good idea?"

"Felicity, we're surrounded by trees and I could make it from one side of the island to the other without touching the ground."

"Really?"

"Well, maybe that's a slight exaggeration, but yeah."

Felicity put her hand on his arm so she was forced to look at her. "Just… be careful."

He nodded his understanding. "Always."

"Liar."

They both knew he took risks when he had to, so he didn't try and deny it.

Seeing the genuine fear in her eyes and knowing how it would hurt her is he died, Oliver almost wanted to say that he wouldn't go, but someone had to. Someone had to save the people that the authorities overlooked, and no one else seemed to be stepping up.

* * *

Felicity was on tenterhooks since Oliver had left. He had told her to get some sleep, but how could she when there was so much more security around?

It was almost 4am now and Oliver had been gone for the best part of two hours.

"Come on, Oliver."

With each minute thy ticked by, she became more and more certain that Oliver had been discovered and that any minute now, they would be coming for her too.

She couldn't even use her tablet as a distraction, because the drapes didn't close properly and the light would give away that fact that she was awake. Plus Oliver was coming back in through the window, and he didn't need to fight with netting.

She almost screamed when she heard a small thud but she realised that it was just Oliver, jumping down from the window sill. He closed the window and pulled his black beanie off.

"Anything?" she asked softly.

He nodded but made his way into the bathroom, where he used one of her face wipes to remove the black paint smeared over his face. He came back just wearing shorts and a t-shirt and climbed into bed beside her, facing the middle.

"So?"

"From what I could tell, It wasn't a dump site but on my way back, I caught them taking a couple from the 1T3 cabin, I didn't recognise them."

"I can still get into the office computer, so I can see who was checked in there, if we can shield the light from the tablet."

"Could we do it in the bathroom? No windows in there."

That was actually a good idea, so she made her way there, slightly perplexed when Oliver followed. The bathroom was spacious but not huge and with him in there also, kind of claustrophobic.

She lowered the toilet seat and sat there, the tablet balanced on her lap. Oliver stood beside her to watch, his naked thigh pressed against her upper arm, which was very distracting.

"They've been deleted from the database but checking the cache… Jon Coleman and Larry Gooding were staying there. Wow, I never thought about gay couples getting marriage counselling."

"They have issues, like everyone else."

"I know, I'm just… surprised is all."

"So why are they taking these people?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "Did you see where they took him?"

"Yeah, it looked like an old hunting blind but inside, it had an elevator going underground."

"So they come and steal these people away in their sleep? How creepy is that?" She shuddered.

"What's even creepier, is that there are another two sheds like that around the resort. Which would make the base underground at least half a mile wide."

"I wonder…" she began typing into google. "Yes, this place was built as a fallout shelter by the government, then abandoned after the cold war. It was bought by Philip Marvolio who turned into in to a couples retreat, then Fremont Holdings bought it six years ago."

"So they bought it for the bunker underground and used the existing business as a cover?"

"Sounds plausible, but we still don't know why."

"Maybe Barry will find something." He sounded tense.

"Maybe."

"It's got to be related to the blood samples that were taken, don't you think?"

She nodded her agreement, unable to keep her gaze from slipping to his muscular thigh now and again. "So let's see if we can get the medical records for the missing people, maybe then we can figure out what they have in common, and maybe that'll answer why they were taken"

"Can you hack medical records from here?"

"No, but I can talk Diggle through it. I created some programs to make hacking simpler and they should be sufficient for family doctor computers. Hospital records might be a little harder and I'd need to be there, so let's pray we don't need to do that."

"Well, that can wait until morning. We should get some sleep while we can."

Felicity nodded and went back to the bedroom.

"I'll take the floor," he told her.

"What if they look in the window again? The drapes don't close."

"Better than me attacking you again."

"Oliver, that was nothing, now get into bed."

He fixed her with an icy stare, clearly intending to be stubborn.

"What? Worried you won't be able to keep your hands off me?" she teased.

"Felicity-"

"No, don't '_Felicity'_ me, Oliver. The problem was that I tried to wake you; I won't do that again. Now get into the bed!"

Reluctantly, he did and they lay facing each other, neither speaking but both wondering what they had gotten themselves into.

Without thought, Oliver reached out and took her hand. "Go to sleep," he told her, his thumb gently rubbing the back of her hand.

The action quickly soothed her and made her feel dopey.

"You should be a hypnotist," she told him.

He smiled, although it would be a while before he was able to sleep but he rarely got much more than four hours, so he was used to it. Surprisingly, he fell asleep not ten minutes after Felicity.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: I'm away with family right now but I managed to find time to upload this, although it's not as well proofed as I might have liked. Sorry. I hope there aren't too many mistakes.

I'm almost caught up to myself now and I honestly don't know how much time I'll have for writing fic (especially since I have 2 novels on the go that I should be writing) but rest assured, this story isn't going to be left unfinished, I know exactly where it's going.

The press-ups scene was inspired by an olicity fan drawing I once saw, which is just the cutest thing ever. I have no idea who made it so if you know, please tell me and I'll credit them with the inspiration. [EDIT] picture was drawn TheKeyThief on Twitter, AKA missmert on Tumblr.

I also have a cute, short vid on YouTube, set to Talk Dirty to Me by Jason Derulo (by user Cat W), which I hope will make you smile, if you feel like looking for it. I'm an awful vidder but I used to enjoy it, occasionally.

Merry Christmas.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

"And what about you, Oliver?" The therapist asked.

"What about me?"

"So far all we've worked on are Felicity's issues with you. Don't you have any problems in this relationship that you'd like to address."

"No."

"Nothing that angers or irritates you?

"No. Felicity is very good to me, she goes above and beyond."

"Maybe that's true but nobody is perfect. Just give me one thing that bugs you?"

Oliver considered for a moment, intentionally not looking at Felicity.

"She takes unnecessary risks sometimes, I don't like that."

"What kind of risks?"

Damn, he'd been too honest.

Knowing his propensity for awful cover stories, Felicity stepped in. "The extreme sports kind, parachute jumping and things like that."

"Why do you do them?" Kelly asked.

"Why not? It's not as if I'm physically incapable, and I know Oliver won't let anything happen to me."

"And she never talks about her life or her family." Oliver added, suddenly on a roll. "She wants to know all about my past, but she doesn't share hers.

"I tell you personal things all the time," Felicity argued.

"No, you ramble and personal things slip out, there's a difference."

"Well it's not like you ever ask."

"Because you're uncomfortable when I do."

"There's not much to tell, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm boring."

"You aren't boring."

"Oliver, please, you don't have to lie."

"I'm not lying!"

"Felicity?"

She turned to the counsellor.

"Don't just give a knee jerk reaction, take a few moments to examine why you don't reveal much personal information."

Felicity harrumphed but sat back and thought about it.

"I'm not hiding anything. If you really want to know, my folks are divorced. My Mom is a teacher and lives in Michigan, and my father is a lawyer in upstate New York… last I checked. See, boring."

"So you don't get on with your father," Kelly assumed.

"Not really, I haven't spoken to him in years."

"Why is that?"

"He's not a nice man, that's why my Mom divorced him."

"Are you close with your mother?"

"How is this relevant to my relationship with Oliver?"

"We learn a lot of our habits and get most of our values from our parents."

"They were very conservative, your typical middle class, white picket fence… family."

"Are you an only child?"

"No, I have a younger brother. He's just started college, studying to be an architect." She smiled. "He's really good at impressions and his Christopher Walken always cracks me up. He should have been an actor or a comedian, he used to be a part of the drama club in school and…"

Oliver noticed that while her parents were a sore topic, her brother clearly wasn't. There was a story there, and suddenly he wanted to know what it was. In front of their therapist probably wasn't the best time however and like him, she would probably talk more freely once they were alone.

She was right, he didn't often ask about her family, and not just because she didn't seem inclined to share. He could be very self-involved, he knew himself well enough to recognise that, and being a vigilante wasn't a good enough excuse when it came to people he cared about.

"Let's get back to the extreme sports," Kelly said, and Oliver wondered if the therapist recognised that Felicity was deflecting, hoping her rambling would stop them asking about things that made her uncomfortable.

"What about it?" Felicity asked. She was wearing her polite face, the one she used when she was about to lie.

"What draw does danger have for you?"

Felicity shrugged. "I don't know, the adrenalin rush, I guess."

"You enjoy that?"

"I guess."

The conversation continued like that, moving from her 'extreme sports' to her family, going around in circles but without any real answers, and Oliver stopped pushing. If she did trust him enough to tell him the truth, she wouldn't do so here, in therapy, especially when the therapist was a suspect.

They left at the end of their 45 minute session, both sensing the new distance between them, and both ignoring it.

They went to their cooking class and were perfectly polite as they both made a sponge cake, although Felicity took the lead and did most of the work.

There were still extra staff members wondering around, acting more like guards than resort staff, but they did their best to ignore them.

After the class they took the cake back to their cabin but they didn't have any interest in trying it. They made sandwiches for lunch, then Felicity kissed him.

Considering how robotic they had been, it took him by surprise but he enjoyed it. Still, when she let him up for air, he looked confused.

"Felicity?"

"There is no way you are getting me back on horseback and since the therapist didn't say anything about no sex today, I thought we might spend the afternoon in bed. It could be good practice for our tango lesson later."

If only she meant what she said and wasn't playing up for the cameras… well, honestly, that would be a very bad idea, awful really, but very appealing nonetheless.

"You're a genius, you know that?"

She grinned. "Actually, I do, but it's always nice to be told."

He kissed her back and scooped her into his arms, kicking her bedroom door open and closed as he carrier her to the bed.

He kept on kissing her after the door was closed and to his surprise, she didn't stop him. They had work to do however and he lowered her to her feet, albeit reluctantly. His arms were still around her when he noticed the bathroom door. It had been pushed to earlier but now was open four inches.

He tightened his grip on her and buried his face in her neck.

"Someone's been in here," he whispered, in between kissing her neck. He felt her stiffen in his arms, no doubt wondering if they had discovered her computer equipment. They had been very careful about putting everything back into the secret compartment in his suitcase so if this was a cursory search they would be fine but there was the added possibility that they had installed cameras or microphones in here too.

"Would you give me a shoulder rub?" he asked, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm feeling a little tense." He pulled his sweater off and waited.

Felicity didn't understand why but quickly covered her confusion and played along. Kneeling behind him, she began to rub his neck and shoulders, and Oliver allowed his eyes to close and his head to loll back. His eyes were opened a crack though, and he took the chance to look around, studying the paintings, light fittings, plugs and furnishings, searching for a lens. Cameras could be small these days but he was fairly well versed in the sorts of things they could be placed in.

He saw nothing untoward and leaned back. Felicity took the hint and moved out of the way. On his back, he was able to do the same search on the other side of the room. He still saw nothing suspicious but it was easier to hide a microphone than a camera, so they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Stay here," he told her. "I packed something that you might like."

Feeling slightly more confident, he looked properly around the room but still didn't see a camera, so he got Felicity's tablet out of his case. Their clothes had been disturbed but everything seemed to be where they had left it in the secret compartment. He handed her the tablet and tried to convey with a look, that she should scan for bugs.

"Wow, you really do know how to please me," she said, taking it from him. She turned the tablet on and opened the right program to search for broadcasts. He saw three feeds some up on the screen. She then went into settings, changed a few and scanned again. She repeated the process a further two more times.

"Just the original three, two cameras and a microphone," she said softly. "They may have searched but they didn't leave any more bugs."

They both relaxed and positioned themselves more comfortably on the bed, backs to the headboard.

"I've got an email from Barry," she told him. "He says that the gene being studied has to do with response to sunlight. A defective version of that gene causes a rare genetic condition, so rare that it doesn't even have a name yet. There have only been 5 verified cases in the world."

"What does it cause?"

"An aversion to sunlight. They group it under the condition xeroderma pigmentosum, type HB. Even a few minutes exposure to sunlight causes serious burns and long term cellular damage, which can lead to cancer and rapid ageing."

"If it's so rare, how come the gene causing it has already been identified?"

"Barry says its discovery was an accident, found by researchers at CCU."

"Central City University," Oliver added.

"Yeah, and the man in charge of that team was Dr Donald Halifax. I don't think that's a coincidence."

"So they're trying to use gene therapy to cure this?"

"Yeah. I mean it's brilliant actually. If they can replace the faulty gene with a proper one, then the condition is cured."

"Except they're testing it on people."

"Well, the idea is brilliant. It's the execution that's cruel, if they are testing it on people, that is. Barry also says that the animals are likely being used to incubate the retro viruses."

Felicity also had an email from Diggle with fifteen new missing couples but they still couldn't find a common link between the missing people.

Oliver spoke with Diggle while Felicity looked over the decoded documents, then performed an internet search on the condition.

"_Have you got enough to take to the police?"_ Diggle asked.

"No. Lance might look into it if the arrow called him, but he doesn't have jurisdiction here."

"_Might be worth a call anyway, he might have friends in Central City PD."_

"Even if he had, they won't get a warrant for this place."

"_So do you think that someone who suffers from the condition lives underground?"_ Diggle asked.

"That would be my guess but we don't know who that is."

"I might have a way to find out," Felicity interrupted. "I have a paper here by a Doctor Theodore Crane, in which he sites all five known cases as reference. The paper is seven years old and at the time of writing, two of the sufferers were already dead. All five have been given codes so they can't be identified but if I could hack into the researcher's systems, I could find the real names."

"Can you do that from here?" Oliver asked.

"From my tablet? No. If I can network my tablet to the computers here, I might have the processing power."

"But the computers here don't have internet access."

"True, but I do."

"Then do it."

"There are risks," Felicity said. "First of all, I need to be closer to the bug I planted or the connection is just too slow, plus, if I do more than just copy documents, there's a greater chance that they might discover me."

"Then we find another way," Oliver said decisively.

"This _is_ the only way," she argued.

"It's too dangerous, with all the added guards around, I can't guarantee your safety."

"I know." She looked into his eyes, willing him to believe that she knew the possible dangers. "But we have to do this for Diggle's friend."

"With your ankle?"

"Oliver, it's fine today, it was just a sprain." It still hurt a little but

He tried to stare her down but she was adamant.

"Fine, but we go after dark."

She nodded her agreement.

"How close to your bug do you need to be?"

"Thirty feet, maximum." She chewed her lower lip, knowing that such a distance was too close for comfort, putting them inside or within 20 feet of the building.

"We'll go through the trees," he told her. "Land on the roof."

"Oh God," she blanched at the idea, remembering her fear of heights.

"We don't have to do it." Oliver sounded hopeful.

"Yes we do, Oliver. Someone has to stop this and if we can't save those who have already been taken, we can at least stop anyone else from being taken. This is our best chance."

"I don't see how that's going to help us stop what's going on here."

"So far all we have is medical jargon about genetic modification. If I can find proof of who the sufferer is, that combined with the missing couples, should be enough for a search warrant on this place."

"Or I could just go in there and destroy as much as I can."

"You'd be going in almost blind and you hardly have any equipment here; your chances of coming out again are slim to none."

"Better me than you."

"And if they do find you, they'll come for me anyway. My way is better."

Oliver gave a weary sigh. "Fine, but you do everything I say and if I say we have to cut the excursion short, we do, got it? I don't want you hanging around like you did at Merlin's."

"Fine," she agreed.

"If we're going to be up half the night, we should try and take a nap now."

"But I'm not tired."

"Try. For me."

She nodded.

They cut the comms link with Diggle and got under the covers, although neither of them were ready to sleep yet. They lay facing each other.

"You know, if you ever want to talk about your family, I'm here for you," Oliver said as they lay facing one another.

"Thank you."

He hoped she would say more but he wasn't going to press her; she respected his privacy (mostly) so he would respect hers.

He hoped that one day soon, she would trust him enough to confide in him. Why that mattered, he wasn't sure but now that he knew she was hiding something, he thought that he understood a little of how she must feel, dealing with him and his secrets.

And maybe when she asked about the island, she wasn't trying to fix him, maybe she was just trying to understand him, as he wanted to understand her.

They lay facing each other, inches apart yet separated by a vast distance, a distance that couldn't be broached until one of them was brave enough to open up.

* * *

At their dance practice, Felicity wore the support bandage and pretended to be more in more pain than she was, so that suspicion would be less likely to fall on them.

They then shared a very public dinner in the restaurant, which they shared with "Lion" and "Tiger" the couple they had met their first day here. They were as uninteresting as their nicknames were unimaginative, but Oliver was skilled at making small talk and Felicity was too nice a person not to have experience talking even to boring people.

They ordered a lot of wine but were happy for the other coupe to drink most of it.

After that, they had drinks in the bar, buying rounds for two other couples they met there, then they got into a drunken spat at a little after 11, allowing them to storm back to their cabin, where the fight continued until they went to bed.

Their hope was that by appearing inebriated, they would be low on the suspect list and by arguing, few would suspect them of being able to work together so well.

Both of them had very carefully kept the argument away from anything real however, in case they did hurt the other, which would make working together harder.

They lay in bed making plans, until 3am, when Oliver said that the guards would be most careless.

They left pillows under the covers which in darkness and through the window, should appear like two sleeping bodies. They made their way to the window and climbed out onto the sill. Oliver closed pushed the window closed, then he climbed onto the roof, helping Felicity up after him.

From the roof, they were able to jump onto a tree branch, then they climbed. Felicity knew that she was holding Oliver up but he insisted she go first and take her time. Speed meant nothing if she fell, he insisted. Once near the top, he jumped to the next tree, ready to catch her as she jumped and slowly, they got closer and closer to the main house.

Considering how easy he found physical pursuits like this, she was amazed that he wasn't getting irritated with her but instead, he calmly waited for her, helping her pass from tree to tree.

Felicity was completely lost, her sense of direction thrown off by navigating trees, so she was glad that he seemed so confidant.

It took almost an hour to reach the roof of the main house and Felicity was exhausted, both by exertion and fear of being caught. Oliver looked as fresh as a daisy.

Felicity lay on her stomach and Oliver handed her the netbook from the backpack that he carried. There was a risk that the light from the screen would give them away but Felicity had turned the brightness down as far as she could, and Oliver was confident that few guards ever thought to look up.

Oliver had little to do as she worked, so he lay beside her, keeping his ears open for threats, and enjoying the expressions that crossed Felicity's face as she worked. She frowned a lot when she was confused, and she but her lower lip when she was concentrating. She had at least another six expressions, but those were harder to categorise.

They had made the journey here in total silence, communicating with hand signals and looks. It was really quite amazing how in tune they were with each other, considering how little fieldwork they did together.

It took her almost two hours to do what she needed and while most people might have grown complacent, Oliver never dropped his guard and when she finally closed her netbook and nodded at him, he was as ready for action as he had been on the way here.

He had gathered from the footsteps, that the guards patrolled around the main house every thirty minutes, and they were due again in five minutes, although they were getting a little later. With their shifts nearly over and no trouble so far, they were becoming lax and once the next patrol had passed, that attitude would work in their favour.

Despite being able to offer no further explanation that a finger held up, meaning wait, Felicity didn't question him. She saw him cock his head, listening to something but from the roof, she had to strain to even hear the footsteps below and even then, she thought she was imagining them.

And still they waited.

When he finally moved, she took the opportunity to stretch, while he put her netbook away in his backpack, seemingly not without a single stiff muscle. Her muscles were protesting violently, both from the journey there and two hours of stillness, but she kept quiet and was ready to follow him when he moved.

She was eager to get back to their cabin but Oliver went slowly, probably for her benefit, but she didn't appreciate the gesture. Her hurry would have caused her to slip, had it not been for Oliver's quick reflexes, catching her before she could fall.

Despite saving her and the need for silence, she was just about to berate him for insisting they move through the trees, when she heard a dog barking. Suddenly, his paranoia didn't seem so paranoid; dogs would have been able to track them straight back to their cabin. Had he known or was it just a good guess?

The adrenalin spike that her near fall caused, helped her to keep her wits about her until they were safely back in the cabin.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," she nodded softly. "You?"

"Fine," he agreed. "With any luck, they'll never be any the wiser."

Oliver rearranged the sheets and pillows, while Felicity changed in the bathroom. Tomorrow morning was soon enough to discuss what they had learned, so he put the backpack in the wardrobe and quickly changed for bed. When Felicity emerged, he was already under the covers.

"There's no way I'll sleep," she whispered. "I have too much adrenalin in my system."

He smiled, knowing that since she wasn't used to maintaining a state of readiness, she would crash in another few minutes and be out like a light.

He opened his arms in a thoughtless gesture but, possibly assuming they needed to act like a couple, she accepted the offer and settled against him.

"Try," he said, and less than five minutes later, she was asleep. He stayed awake a little longer, wondering if any guards had looked in the window and realised that they weren't in the bed, or if they would discover that Felicity had just used their computers processing power to hack a researcher's system, or if he had missed something, anything, that would lead the guards straight to them.

After another half an hour of waiting though, he allowed himself to relax, and Followed Felicity into slumber land.

* * *

Felicity awoke to Oliver in the throes of another nightmare the next morning, and immediately stiffened, unsure how to react.

Waking him obviously wasn't an option and with his arm wrapped around her, she was afraid to move away in case that somehow incurred his dream-wrath.

Then she remembered comforting her brother when they young; she was five years older, so she had viewed it as her job to look after him and when their parents were fighting; he liked to be sung to. His favourite song didn't really apply to Oliver but it was probably the only song that she knew by heart. Plus, the melody was slow and soothing; singing him Macklemore probably wouldn't have the same effect.

"_My funny valentine, sweet comic valentine, you make me smile with all my heart. Your looks are laughable. Unphotographable. Yet you're my favourite work of art. Is your figure less than Greek? Is your mouth a little weak? When you open it to speak, are you smart?"_

It definitely didn't apply to Oliver but it seemed to calm him, as it used to for her brother.

"_Don't change a hair for me. Not if you care for me. Stay little valentine, stay."_

She went through the song twice and by the time she finished the second rendition, he was still and she wondered if it would be safe to disentangle herself from him.

"Were you singing?" He asked, his voice groggy.

"No."

"Really? Because it sounded like you were singing My Funny Valentine."

"You must have been dreaming."

"Right." The mirth in his voice said that he wasn't buying what she was selling.

"You were having another nightmare," she admitted, "and my brother used to like me to sing to him when he couldn't sleep."

He began trailing his fingers up and down her arm, which felt like an unconscious gesture but still made her uncomfortable. At least she was wearing clothes this morning.

"It's a beautiful song. You sing it well."

"Well enough to lull a baby to sleep."

"Well, period."

"I'm no Ella Fitzgerald." She felt uncomfortable with his compliment. She didn't mind when he commented on her intelligence because that was safe, this however, was new.

"Maybe not, but you can carry a tune."

"Yeah, well, if you're not going to go all Karate Kid on me, I'm going to take a shower." She slipped from his embrace and rushed into the bathroom, wondering what the hell was going on?

As she changed and showered, she couldn't help but go over his recent behaviour in her mind, trying to decipher its meaning.

Oliver was being… well, if it was anyone else, he would say he was flirting her, but Oliver? He was so hard to define. She had seen him fake it enough to know that this wasn't some act of his, besides, the only reason for him to try and charm her like this was to get her help, but she was already helping him.

The real Oliver was driven and he rarely slacked off, even a little bit. The few jokes he did make were deadpan, sarcastic or cynical. The real Oliver, the one she knew, didn't tease her to try to make her blush, he didn't rub her arm, and he didn't make jokes about the island.

That only left one option, the old Oliver, the pre-island Oliver.

Felicity had never known him but after he started coming to her for help, she had looked him up online. By all accounts, he was a handsome, party boy, who used his charm to skate through life. That Oliver probably knew how to tease, and he was probably over familiar with a lot of women, and he almost certainly had a wicked sense of humour.

So was the old Oliver returning?

Well no, he certainly hadn't lost any of his drive and determination. It was possible that he was lightening up a little though, rediscovering how to have a little fun, perhaps? He certainly seemed to be enjoying the dance classes, and there was no doubt that he had been teasing her when she had used a massage as a reason to retreat to their bedroom.

But what did it mean when he invited her to sleep in his arms last night? She had been so tired that she hadn't questioned it but now she had to wonder. Was it part of their cover, or some thoughtless gesture from his pre-island days; an attempt to enjoy a little female company, perhaps?

Oliver clearly liked women, she'd only known him a year and he bedded Helena, McKenna, Laurel and Isabel, so maybe he hadn't changed that much since his pre-island days. Besides them (and women he was related to) she was the only other woman in his life; did that mean she was next on his list?

She was convenient, and her repeated verbal faux pas made it abundantly clear that she was attracted to him. But did she want that?

Right now, she had his trust and his respect. Did she want more?

Well, it would be a lie to say that she didn't but she couldn't have a fling with him and what she wanted, commitment, probably wasn't something that Oliver could give her. Even if he wanted to, his mission and his job were too big commitments, and they wouldn't to allow him to commit to her as well.

No, she needed to keep things professional, and not let this assignment blur the lines.

* * *

As Oliver made his way to the kitchen to put the coffee on, he wondered what had made Felicity jump from the bed as if she had been scalded. He thought that she was enjoying the new intimacy they were sharing. She certainly seemed to be.

He couldn't say why his feelings were changing, although if he was honest, they weren't really changing, he was just allowing himself to act on them. He had always thought that she was captivating.

Barry was partly responsible. Before Barry Allen had entered their lives, he hadn't needed to worry about Felicity leaving him; she'd had a few dates since he'd known her but nothing serious, and he hadn't been forced to witness her flirting with them.

Seeing her take Barry's side over Oliver's though, had been new and rather… alarming. He had tried to be the bigger man, reasoning that Barry lived in a different city, and Felicity wasn't the flighty type, she wouldn't abandon their mission for a man. So he had allowed them to work together, and after discovering Barry's lies and how hurt Felicity was, he had even invited the kid to his mother's party.

He'd had his dalliance with Isabel, after all, and Felicity deserved a little fun too.

It was only when Felicity shared his secret with the kid, that he had seen him as a real threat.

He did trust Felicity and he knew that she could keep a secret so the fact that's he had told Barry showed that she respected and trusted him.

And that hadn't been a very comforting realisation.

He needed a workout, badly, but he didn't want anyone here suspecting how fit he was. Oliver Queen, the playboy billionaire, didn't workout obsessively. Even if he did visit the onsite gym, he couldn't do his normal exercises, so it would be useless.

He paced the kitchen, wondering how he was going to get rid of his excess energy.

When it was ready, he made two mugs of coffee and took them back into the bedroom, since they had work to do this morning, discussing what she had learned last night and emailing her findings to the police.

When he entered the room, she was dressed for the day but she had dressed down, and was wearing skinny jeans, a sweater and flats. She also had her netbook out. He placed her coffee on the bedside table.

"Thank you." She didn't look at him.

He paced back and forth, like a caged lion.

"That's really distracting," she told him.

"I need a workout," he explained.

"So workout in here," she suggested as she typed.

"With what? Press ups aren't going to do it."

She finally looked up at him. "Get on the ground."

"What?"

"Lie on the ground, like you're about to do a press up."

"Felicity-"

"Just do it!"

He did and was surprised a few moments later, when she sat on his lower back, her legs crossed and her netbook perched on her lap.

"Now do your press ups."

He smiled, appreciating her ingenuity.

"So, what did you find out?" he asked as he began to work out.

"Nothing good."

"Meaning?"

"A boy named George Freemont suffers from the genetic disorder, and I don't think it's too big a stretch to say that he's a member of the Freemont family. I'm sending an anonymous email with the documents we decoded, an explanation, the names of the missing couples we've found and proof that George Freemont is a sufferer, to the Central City PD and Detective Lance, just in case he has any pull with the CCPD."

"That should be enough for a search warrant," he agreed. "So why the long face."

"George Freemont is only seven years old."

He lowered himself to the ground. "That doesn't excuse what they did."

"I know it's just, I wanted to hate them. Knowing that they're doing this for a dying kid…" She sighed.

He understood how she felt.

"I've included a trojan with the email, so we'll know when the CCPD apply for the warrant."

"That doesn't answer what happened to the missing couples," he reminded her.

"I know. Barry also emailed overnight and he has a theory on that. He thinks that the couples being taken have a similar genetic profile to George Freemont."

"But you said only five people in the world have that condition."

"That's right but when you donate an organ, they have to match it to the donor, with blood type and an HLA match."

"HLA?"

"It stands for human leukocyte antigen, they're basically proteins on the cell walls that identify that cell to the rest of the body and if the donor organ isn't similar enough, it'll be rejected, and could even kill the recipient."

"How do you know so much about transplants suddenly?"

"Barry explained it. He couldn't figure out why only some couples would be taken and this is his best theory. We can't check if they're matching by the HLA proteins without getting a blood sample from the missing people, but I can tell you that George Freemont is type A negative, and one member of almost every couple that we suspect were taken, are either blood type A negative or O negative."

"O negative people can donate to anyone, right?"

"Right, people with blood type O negative are universal donors."

"So they're using A and O negative people to test the gene therapy?"

"That's my thinking."

"How many people have those blood types?"

"Combined, approximately thirteen percent."

"But one in ten couples aren't disappearing."

"Which means they're probably also testing an HLA match as well."

"So what's our next step?" he grunted as he pushed up; Felicity was getting very heavy now.

"As soon as the CCPD start completing the paperwork for the warrant, I suggest we leave. Diggle can call with an emergency, a death in the family or something, that way we're gone by the time the police arrive."

"Isn't that tempting fate?"

"We'll use my dad as an excuse, I can live with his death on my conscience."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked

"I told you, he's not a nice man."

Oliver didn't press for more information since she clearly wasn't in a sharing mood.

"Well, if we're staying, I should take a shower. Our next therapy session is in twenty minutes."

"And I need time to hide the shadows under my eyes," she agreed, getting off his back.

Oliver stood up and headed for the bathroom, but he turned back when Felicity called his name.

"I don't want to be a notch in someone's bedpost," she told him.

"O-kay?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Oliver. Let's keep the displays of affection purely public."

"You think I see you as a conquest?"

"I think, that you said you didn't want to get involved with anyone you could care for. If that's really how you feel, then I respect that. If you're just using me, then that means that you don't actually care and if that's the case, I'd rather know now."

She realised that her statement was about as clear as mud.

"Just… don't start anything you can't finish, Oliver, that's all I'm saying."

He nodded.

As he showered he remembered his words to her of a few weeks ago, about why he had slept with Isabel, because he wouldn't come to care for her.

That was still true, he was better, safer, that way, so why was he chasing Felicity now?

Jealousy was a part of it but it wasn't a desire to take her away from Barry, it was more of a desire to claim her for himself.

The fact was, Felicity was already in danger bu being a known link to the arrow; even if only Officer Lance did know, that was one too many for his tastes. Plus she volunteered her services on missions when needed, which was also dangerous. More than one person knew her face now, and knew of her connection to the vigilante.

By comparison, being associated with Oliver Queen wasn't dangerous at all. According to Isabel, many people already thought they were having a relationship, so keeping his distance to keep her safe was BS.

It was only his heart that he was protecting, in case something happened to her.

But would losing her now really be any better than losing her as a lover? He couldn't care for her m much more than he already did, after all.

Was he just putting unnecessary roadblocks on their relationship?

That was something he was going to have to consider very carefully because she as right, he couldn't start something with her that he couldn't finish.

* * *

"Felicity, would you mind if I saw Kelly on my own this morning?"

"Why would I?" She cocked her head as she considered him. "Unless you want to talk to her about me. You aren't going to talk about me, are you?"

"No?" he smiled. "I just have a few… issues I'd like to talk through with her."

"Oh, well, okay then. I'll just take a nice, long bubble bath or something."

"Thank you," he said with sincerity.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"I'm happy to sit here and stare at you, Oliver, but when you told me Felicity wouldn't be joining us, I assumed you has something that you'd like to discuss."

Oliver looked at the therapist, wondering how to talk without revealing his vigilante activities, as well as wondering if he should talk about such things.

From Felicity's research into the resort staff, he knew that Kelly had been working here for eight years, longer than the new owners, so she was probably unaware of the activities going on underground. At least, he hoped she way.

"I've had my heart broken a few times," he admitted. "Both thanks to my own actions and because I've lost people."

"Do you think that's why you have trouble opening up to Felicity?"

"You're the therapist."

"True but therapists aren't magicians; I can't solve your problems, Oliver, only help you through them."

He nodded as he considered how to open up. "I'm bad for people. Even when I don't want to, or it's not my fault, they always end up getting hurt."

"So when it's not your fault, do you blame yourself?"

"That depends.

"On what?"

"On the circumstances."

"Such as?"

"Sara. She was on the Queen's Gambit with me, she died because of me." She wasn't dead but he couldn't tell anyone that and besides, her fate as a member of the Assassins guild, wasn't exactly a happy ending. "And soon after I got back, I was kidnapped, and so was my friend Tommy. They weren't after him; he was only in danger because he was with me. Just the act of being my friend, puts people in danger."

"You can't take responsibility for other people's actions, Oliver, because you have no control over them so not only does that place an unfair burden on you, it takes the blame away from the people who chose to do wrong."

"That's easy to say but not very easy to do."

"Nothing worth having comes easily."

"So what do I do?"

"What do you want to do?"

"Do you always answer a question with a question?"

"Do you?" she answered, although her smile said that she was teasing. "For the record, I don't but then again, my opinions aren't what matters here. You have to do what you think is best."

"That's just the thing, I used to think that keeping people at arm's length was the best thing but now… I'm not so sure."

"Because if you lose someone, it won't be as painful?"

He nodded.

"Do you feel that you don't deserve to be happy, Oliver?"

"I don't deserve it."

"But you are entitled to it," she said firmly. "It's so fundamental a right, that it's even in the declaration of Independence."

"Still…"

"Why don't you feel deserving?"

"Because of things in my past."

"On the island?" she asked after a few moments, when he hadn't elaborated.

"And before, and since. I've hurt people, badly."

"Have you ever considered that your bad luck in relationships might be a self-fulfilling prophecy?"

"You think I want them to end?"

"Not necessarily. I think it's more likely that you were afraid of commitment, so you did something to spoil your relationships."

"You not… all together wrong." He wondered how much to tell her, and how much he wanted to tell her. "There was a girl, before the island. Laurel. I've never loved anyone like I love her but when she suggested moving in I… started an affair with her sister."

"Do you still love her?"

He looked up, sharply. "Of course. It was only the memories of her that gave me the strength to survive."

"And has she forgiven you?"

"I think so."

"So why aren't you with her? Is she married?"

"No, she's single, and we did try but then… It's complicated."

"I've got time."

Oliver sighed and after a few moments, tried to explain as succinctly as he could.

"When I got back, she was dating my best friend, so I stepped aside. I finally told her how I felt and I thought things were going to be okay, then the earthquake hit. My best-friend died while saving her. I don't know how we come back from that."

"Is your love for her one of the reasons you can't properly commit to Felicity?"

Oliver nodded slowly. "Maybe."

"I'm going to ask you something but I don't want an answer; I just want you to think about it, really think about it."

"Okay."

"Are you sure that your feelings for this Laurel are real?"

"Why wouldn't they be?"

"Because for five years, you used Laurel's memory as a crutch; I can't help but think that you created an idealised version of her and that maybe, the reality isn't living up to your memories."

"Laurel is about as good a person as you could hope to meet," he argued.

"Maybe but in my experience, saints are difficult people to live with and even harder to please. Despite how good of a person she is, Oliver, she might not be a good match for _you_."

Was she right? Laurel had trusted the vigilante at one time but even then, she did it to help her clients, not because she felt he was in the right. If she discovered that the arrow was Oliver and that he was acting on his father's last wishes, crossing names off a list, she would never trust him again. The vigilante had been nameless and faceless, so she could project her own motives onto him.

Felicity's morals were far more fluid, which is not to say that she was bad or immoral, just less choosy about _how_ justice was done.

"Thank you, you've certainly given me some food for thought."

* * *

Oliver arrived back at their cabin to find Felicity asleep on the bed, netbook balanced on her lap. Considering how little sleep they'd gotten the night before, he wasn't surprised and he took a moment to study her. She looked so peaceful and serene.

After his therapy session, he had taken a walk around the building as he considered the points that Kelly had raised, and found himself agreeing with her. His version of Laurel was idealised and after five life changing years on the island, she was no longer a good match for the new Oliver and maybe, she never had been.

A relationship with her would be fraught with lies and deceptions on his part, and he would never be able to show her his true face, that of the vigilante. You couldn't be with someone while hiding a part of yourself from them.

He could share everything with Felicity though, and she already knew him better than any other woman, possibly even better than Diggle, and she still believed in him. Laurel wanted to believe in him, but he had done too much damage to their relationship and no matter how hard he tried, she never would never trust him.

He leaned down and brushed a strand of blonde hair off Felicity's face. He tried to be careful but it must have tickled because she raised a hand to scratch her face and opened her eyes.

"Hey," she smiled at him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"No, its fine," she assured him. "I was just going through an email that Dig sent, I must have dozed off-"

"Ssh," he told her. "That can wait. I need to talk to you about something." He took the computer and moved it aside, while she threw off the last vestiges of lethargy and yawned.

"What did you find out?" She asked.

"About this place, nothing," he explained. "But I realised something, something about us, or perhaps more accurately, me."

She looked a little panic stricken. "O-kay."

"I'm starting to think that I was wrong when I said that I couldn't be with someone I cared about. No, I _was_ wrong, Felicity."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"I'm not so sure it was sudden. I had a friend on the island, and he told me that caring made people weak, that they were a distraction. I remember telling him he was wrong, that caring makes you stronger. In the end, I came around to his way of thinking but I was wrong; caring does make you stronger."

"What are you trying to say, Oliver?"

"That I want to be with you."

"Why me?" She seemed upset but he didn't know the reason.

"Why not you?"

"Because I'm the only woman who knows your secret and isn't psycho, so I'm the only person who won't be mad when you rush off In the middle of a date, who won't question the cuts and bruises and bullet wounds you sometimes come back with. Basically, I'm convenient."

"Felicity." He sat on the edge of the bed, causing her to scoot over a little to keep her distance. He couldn't hide the hurt he felt immediately. "We have a connection and I know that you feel it too; I think we could have something special. So special that it terrifies me."

"What? Why?" She sounded confused.

"What we do is high risk and… the thought of losing you is more than I can stand. But I realised that I already care so much about you, that it couldn't hurt any more than it already would. If something happened to you, I wouldn't regret caring about you, I'd regret not telling you how I felt, and finding out what might have been."

She relaxed and even smiled. "I won't ask you to stop," she assured him. "I know that what we do is important to you, and it's important to me too."

"I never thought that you'd ask that of me," he admitted.

"Good, because you can't ask the same of me either."

"I'm sorry?"

"I mean that if we do this, you can't stop me from offering to help, when I can."

He had to admit that he would be even more tempted to stop her going out into the field, but that wouldn't be fair to her. It seemed that she knew him better than he had given her credit for.

"I'm not sure I can agree to that," he admitted. "If something did happen-"

"It wouldn't be your fault," she said, grabbing his hand and squeezing. "It would be _my_ choice and the actions of the person who hurt me, not you."

"It's going to be… hell."

She smiled. "Now you know how I feel every time you go out there."

He frowned. "I guess I never thought of it that way. How do you deal with it?"

"What makes you think I know how?"

"Because you don't try to stop me."

"I do when you take too big a risk but when you ignore me, I guess I just don't have a choice."

"Well, we can work on that." Her raised eyebrows made his alter his answer. "_I_ can work on that."

"I'm sure you'll manage," she assured him. "Women have been sending husbands and sons off to war for centuries, after all."

He smiled at her and now that he finally had permission, he leaned in to kiss her but she leaned her head back slightly, so he stopped.

"Are you sure you want this, Oliver? That this isn't just some reaction to us playing a couple, or you being jealous of Barry?"

"Believe me, Felicity, this is more than just a passing dalliance; I've thought long and hard about this and even if I could find someone who would understand what I'm trying to do, it would still be you that I want. I'm a better man when I'm with you."

"Well I have to say, my life has more meaning since you came into it."

He leaned in to kiss her again but she leaned away once more.

"What's wrong this time?" he asked.

"Nothing, I just feel like I need some time to prepare."

"We've been kissing since we got here," he reminded her.

"But those weren't real kisses; this is different."

"Okay," he smiled. "Three-"

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you time to prepare. Two." He leaned in.

She looked rather like a deer trapped in headlights, which is to say adorable yet petrified.

"One." He pressed his lips against hers and this time, she allowed it and after a few moments, kissed him back, her hands going to his shoulders.

He could have pressed for more but he wanted to wait until this case was over before progressing things too far, after all, they might have known each other for a year, but they hadn't even had a date yet. He wasn't going to rush this and risk ruining something that could be incredible.

He was smiling contentedly when he pulled away. "You know, I was expecting this to be harder that it was."

"This is just the beginning, Oliver, there's still a lot of time for problems to surface and I'm sure one or other of us will be running for the hills in no time; we both have issues, after all."

"True. I wish you trusted me enough to share yours."

"It's not a question of trust, Oliver." He could hear the pain in her voice.

"Was it so bad?"

"In the scheme of things, probably not."

"But you won't tell me."

"Some things aren't easy to talk about," she reminded him. "I would think that you of all people would understand that."

"I do, but it's more than that. I know you, Felicity, I can tell when you're lying. I want to understand you, everything that made you who you are, good or bad."

"It was a long time ago, Oliver, I'm over it."

He reached out and took her hand. "Just… know that I'm here for you."

"Thank you," she smiled.

* * *

When Officer Lance returned to his desk with a fresh mug of coffee, was waylaid by Roy Harper, a petty criminal and sometimes helper to the arrow.

"I need to talk to you?" Roy said, sounding worked up.

Lance guided Roy to a quieter part of the station, where they could talk freely.

"What's up," Lance asked once they were alone.

"I need to contact out mutual friend."

"You don't have a way to contact him?"

"Of course I do, but he isn't responding. It's important and I thought that you might be able to get a message to him."

"What's the message?"

"Just that I need to talk to him. I have some information he wants."

"Something I can help with?"

"No, it has to be him, he was very specific."

"I'll see what I can do, Lance assured him.

"Thank you." Roy turned and left.

* * *

Diggle was surprised when Quentin Lance's name flashed up on Felicity's phone. Since they weren't able to talk freely at the resort, both Felicity and Oliver had left their phones with him, knowing that he would contact them if something urgent came up.

He answered the call. "Hello?"

The caller sounded surprised to hear a male voice.

"Is Felicity Smoak there? I need to talk to her."

"She's unavailable at the moment. Can I take a message?"

"A friend of a friend asked me to call her. Roy harper has an urgent message for a friend of hers."

Diggle turned to the camera that covered the back alley to Verdant, but there was no arrow head in the wall. Why hadn't Roy used that method? Why go to Lance?

"I'll pass the message on as soon as I can." Diggle answered.

"Good. If you could also ask her to tell her friend, 'I'm striking out with the CCPD'. She'll know what I mean."

Diggle knew that Felicity had forwarded on a copy of the email she sent to the CCPD, so he didn't need to ask what that meant. He wanted to ask more but couldn't without giving his evolvement away.

"All right, I'll tell her."

"Right… well, thank you." Lance hung up.

* * *

Roy listened from around the corner and finally, he had a name; Felicity Smoak, his girlfriend's brother's secretary. He didn't know how or why but somehow, she knew who the hood was.

He walked away, determined to find Felicity.

* * *

By lunchtime, there was no indication that the CCPD was filing for an arrest warrant, to even just a search warrant, and Felicity was starting to worry, so Oliver suggested that they take a walk.

"Diggle spoke to Lyla about this place and she was able to find the original plans," Felicity told him. "That was the email I was reading when I fell asleep."

"Do you have them?" Oliver asked as walked the grounds.

"Yeah, he scanned them for us."

"We'll take a look when we get back," he said. He too had a bad feeling about the CCPD not having filed for a warrant yet. If nothing happened soon, he might be able use the plans to get inside again, or at least have a better idea of the layout if he had to fight his way in, after all, there were most likely people being used as lab rats and if the police wouldn't help, he had to save them."

"_You guys there?"_ Diggle's voice came over the comms link

"Here." Oliver answered.

"I just had an odd phone call from Officer Lance on Felicity's phone," he explained. "First, he said that Roy wants to get in touch with you but he didn't seem to know why."

"Did he leave an arrow in the wall?"

"_Nope, I've kept the feed live and I've been checking regularly. He hasn't left the arrow there."_

"Maybe he lost it," Felicity suggested.

"I doubt it, he's obsessed with the hood," Oliver argued.

"_Do you want me to hood up and find out what he wants?"_ Diggle asked.

"No, with the mirakuru in his system, he's unpredictable. Try to keep a discrete eye on him instead."

"_Will do. Lance also said to tell you that he was striking out with contacts in the Central City Police."_

Oliver and Felicity shared a look.

"We'll call him back at the cabin," Oliver suggested.

"Our phone is currently in a computer in the lab," Felicity reminded him. "But Dig can patch our comms link into a phone call and put the voice synthesiser on."

She explained the procedure to him and a few moments later, Oliver was talking to Lance, with Felicity and Diggle listening in.

"_Hello."_

"Officer Lance, you called Miss Smoak," Oliver said.

"_I did. Did her friend give her the message to pass on?" _

"He did."

"_Good. I spoke with a friend of mine from the academy, who's now a detective with the CCPD, and he told me that his lieutenant, Theron, is blocking them from investigating the case. The DA also stopped by the precinct earlier, and he's pretty sure that they were discussing the email that you sent."_

"Sounds like the Freemont family have friends in high places."

"_I got that impression too and my buddy tells me that suspicion follows Theron around like a bad smell, but I.A. has never been able to nail him."_

"Thank you, detective."

"_Anytime. My buddy says that if you want help from the force, you'll need a victim to file a complaint."_

"That's assuming that the Freemont's leave any victims alive." Oliver shared a look with Felicity.

"_Can't you help them?" _

"Maybe. Getting in once wasn't exactly easy, but I won't let these people get away with it."

"_Glad to hear it. I'm still on desk duty at the moment but even if I wasn't, I wouldn't be much help, especially with the hike to the resort." _

He sounded bitter and given the injuries he sustained at the hands of Cyrus Gold, Oliver couldn't blame him.

"_Besides, I don't have jurisdiction there, but the CCPD do have a helicopter and if you can get word to them, they'll come and collect any survivors."_

Oliver couldn't trust them; if there was one dirty cop on the force, there could be more, but he would need to think of some exit strategy; just getting these people to the surface wasn't going to be enough because even without the additional security, if they were injured or weak, then they wouldn't be able to walk out of here.

"Thank you, detective."

"_Your friend, Roy, also stopped by, looking to contact you."_

"To stop him going out every night and getting himself killed, I told him I could use him for information on the Glades, but he is not my friend, Detective, and you need to be careful around him."

"_Careful?" _

"My attempts to keep him safe didn't work and he met up with some very… unsavoury people." He didn't want to tell Lance that Roy had taken the same substance as Cyrus Gold since the officer would automatically assume the worst but equally, he wanted Lance to be safe. "The encounter may have had unfortunate consequences for Roy, so be careful when you're dealing with him and… try not to make him angry."

"_Why? What is he, the hulk or something?" _

"Or something." That was as close as Oliver would come to revealing the truth.

"_Understood," _

"Thank you." He hung up and turned to Felicity.

"If the lieutenant and DA are friends of the family, they must know someone is on to them." She sounded worried.

"And they might choose to kill any test subjects they have, so they can't testify against them," he finished her thought. "We have to do this tonight."

"Let's head back and check out the blueprints."

The original plans for the bunker were quite detailed and revealed that what were now elevators down into the structure, had once been air vents or had housed communication equipment. The main access to the facility was by a road (although now it was little more than a dirt track) on the other side of the compound and the entrance into the bunker seemed to be large enough to drive a tall truck through. The bunker was actually spread over two levels, with the road entrance being to the lower level.

They had no way of telling from the plans what each of the rooms were now used for, but Felicity accessed the bug on the computer and by a process of logic and elimination, they were able to work out that the medical facilities seemed to be on the lower level, while the upper housed the research labs.

The northern corner on the upper floor was unmentioned in the documents but according to the plans, that area had been the accommodation for government officials and had suites rather than rooms, so they suspected that it was where the sick son, and possibly his family, lived.

"This elevator shaft is the most remote," Oliver pointed. "It passes through the air filtration room so if we enter that way, we should have access to the rest of the facility through the ventilation pipes."

Felicity nodded and pointed to the screen. "This large room down the hall, was the generator room," Felicity noted. "Chances are they used the existing infra-structure, so all the wiring conduits likely come through that room, which means that I can probably access cameras for the site from there, and I can let you know when the way ahead is clear."

Oliver considered asking her to stay in the cabin but not only would she need to leave when he did, she really would be essential to a saving those people and he needed her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

They repeated the same routine as the night before, appearing to drink too much but without the argument. Since time was of the essence tonight, they left their cabin at 1am and using the trees, made their way to the second elevator shaft.

Oliver had brought all of his equipment with him, as well as Felicity's tablet and netbook. Sadly he didn't have his bow as there just wasn't room for it in the cases, but he had brought rope, throwing knives, tranquiliser darts and some of his explosive arrowheads.

Once there, Oliver lowered Felicity into the shaft, then climbed down after her.

"How can I be afraid of heights while underground?" Felicity asked, as he worked on opening a ventilation shaft. "That's a misnomer, don't you think?"

"Try not to look down," he reminded her. "And ssh."

He opened the hatch and climbed in, then together, they crawled for about two hundred feet until they reached a grill that looked down into the massive generator room. The generators, ancient relics from the 50s, were loud but that would work in their favour should there be any guards in the room.

Oliver opened the grill and jumped down from the hatch, then turned back to help Felicity down. Ducking behind the machinery in case there were cameras, they made their way to the control room, where a man wearing overalls, who was supposed to be watching for faults, was dozing. A quick tranq dart to the neck assured that he would stay asleep for at least another thirty minutes.

Oliver pulled the balaclava down over his face, while Felicity went to work, pulling panels off the walls, stripping wires and attaching her netbook. She worked fiendishly quickly and after five minutes, announced that she had control of the cameras.

"We're in luck, they all seem to be fixed, not movable." She began to flick through the screens. "They're alive!" She exclaimed. On her screen was a video showing three people in hospital beds, with two spare beds in the room.

"They aren't restrained," Oliver noted and Felicity switched the screen, to show a triple feed of what appeared to be closet sized rooms, each room containing a person, two men and one woman, at least one of whom was injured.

"Looks like they're using the partners to assure cooperation. Luckily for us, they're kept close together." She quickly pulled up the floor plan that Diggle had sent them and prepared to guide Oliver through the complex. "I'll freeze the feed from each camera you pass until you're through. When I say, go through that door and turn left."

"Lock the door after me," he instructed, then stole a quick kiss. "Good luck."

"You too."

He waited patiently by the door until she said 'go', then he waited outside the door until he heard the lock engage.

"Okay, go left and wait by the corner."

He did as she said, waiting until she had paused the camera feeds and she guided him down a floor and closer to the people being held.

"I've found emails here, looks like we're just in time," Felicity said over their comms. "They know about the email we sent to the police and the head doctor, Fairfax, wanted the patients killed. The family vetoed it but everyone is due to be moved tomorrow morning. Some emails also give the name of the DA and a judge who told them what was going on. I'm downloading copies as proof."

"Stay on the task at hand, Felicity, we have to get these people out first; we can focus on taking down the parties involved later."

There were guards roaming the halls but Felicity saw them first and was able to direct Oliver into side rooms.

Unfortunately, not all rooms had a camera and the third time she directed him into a side room, she heard a fight; obviously it hadn't been unoccupied.

"Oliver!" he didn't reply. Working as quickly as she could, she found the wiring for that room. "I'm going to strobe the lights to disorientate them," she said, hoping that he could still hear her. It was a tactic that Diggle had told her about but with some warning, Oliver shouldn't be affected by it.

The noises stopped and Felicity left the lights on.

"Oliver?"

"Here." He sounded hurt.

"What happened?"

"Seems I walked in on the security guard sleeping quarters and these two got a rude awakening."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." From the stress in his voice, she thought that he was lying.

"Okay. I'm going to trip an alarm in the eastern fence, that should draw all the security away from you to search that area."

"Don't do anything rash, Felicity."

"I won't." She did it anyway and sixty seconds later, amber lights began to flash throughout the complex. Thirty seconds after that, a voice sounded through the speakers.

'_Alarm triggered at sector G4, all off duty and mobile security personnel report to Mr Beaumont immediately. Civilian attire only.'_

"Okay, looks like the guards are clearing out, wait a few more minutes until I can be sure they've gone."

She watched as the guards rushed to the upper level, heading for the security office and when no one had appeared on camera for two minutes, she gave Oliver the all clear and guided him the rest of the way.

"Okay, there's one security guard outside the cells."

"Just one?"

"He had a partner earlier but he left to search with the others." Felicity paused the feed. "Okay, go." Unfortunately, pausing the camera image meant that she could see the live feed either and could only go by the noises she heard but by the sound of it, he quickly dispatched the guard.

"One down," Oliver told her, and Felicity released the breath that she'd been holding. "He has the keys on him."

Oliver unlocked the first cell.

"You're free," he told the man, who looked rather shell shocked.

"No, my partner, they have him," the man told him. "I can't leave without him."

"We're going for them next but you have to remain calm and do exactly as I say. One wrong move could get us all killed."

The man nodded and Oliver unlocked the other two prisoners, telling them much the same thing. The second cell held Diggle's friend, Tom.

"Who are you?" the third prisoner, a woman asked.

"Just a friend," Oliver answered. "Stay behind me. Felicity, we're on the move."

"_Overriding the camera feeds now. Turn right out of there and wait at the second door on the left."_

"Come on," Oliver told the prisoners.

Yellow lights were still flashing but thanks to the overhead fluorescents, they weren't too distracting.

"We're here."

"_Okay,"_ Felicity answered. _"There's a nurse and a guard on the other side of that door, both men, both look burly."_

"Got it. The lock is a keypad."

"_Right, just give me a second to override the camera. Okay, the code is…. 3931." _

Oliver entered the code and the door opened. He had the element of surprise on his side and easily took both men out, Tom delivering the final, knockout blow to one.

"That felt good," Tom told Oliver, then ran to his wife's side.

"Can you walk?" Oliver asked the patients.

The gay patient looked very healthy and answered yes. Tom's partner, Alice, looked like she was a little sick but said she could walk, while the third man looked as if he had the flu, he was pale, clammy and with dark circles under his eyes. He shook his head, no, he couldn't walk.

"We can help him," Tom said to Oliver, then looked to the man's wife, who nodded that she would help too.

Oliver nodded his understanding.

"We're on the move," Oliver told Felicity.

"_Copy that. Head out and turn right."_

"Meet us at the loading bay."

"_I can't, not until you're there, the guards will see you." _

"Pause all the cameras if you have to, I'm not leaving here without you?"

"_I just need a little more time, I found an old protocol-" _

"I'm not leaving you here. You've already sent most of the guards to the fence and I can handle what's left. Meet us in the loading dock now."

"_I will, I will, I just need a second."_ He could hear her still typing.

"Felicity!" he snapped at her.

After a moment's hesitation she answered. "Fine, I'm on my way."

"Good. Dig, you there?"

"_Five minutes out." _

"Good, we'll meet you in five." Oliver turned to the prisoners, most of whom looked perplexed at his talking to himself. Only Tom seemed to realise he was wearing a comms link and possibly having recognised the name Dig, he nodded.

"Our ride is on its way," Oliver told them. "Follow me."

They were a little slow thanks to the sick gentleman and Oliver had to take out two guards who crossed their path, one of whom managed to fire a shot that caught Oliver in the shoulder. Thankfully it was just a graze and they made it to the loading bay on time.

There were two guards and two other workers in the bay, Oliver took out three of them but Tom took the forth. Seconds later, a loud bang signalled Diggle's arrival in a 2½ ton M35 military truck, as he drove though it the closed delivery bay doors.

All hell broke loose as the yellow flashlights turned red and the wail of an alarm sounded.

"Felicity, where are you?" Oliver asked.

"_South stairwell, nearly there,"_ she answered.

Diggle was out of the truck and helping the prisoners into the back but despite the balaclava he wore, he saw Tom greet his friend. Oliver ran towards the stairwell but security was obviously already on their way to the bay and as Felicity emerged from the stairwell, a guard was close on her heals and managed to grab her arm.

Felicity's lessons with Diggle had obviously paid off and she turned and kicked the guard in his shin and as his head went down, her free hand went up, the heel connecting with his nose, breaking it and allowing her to pull free and run.

The guard managed to pull his gun and Oliver stopped short. The guard probably wouldn't have good aim since he was in pain and his eyes would likely be watering, but Oliver couldn't take that risk. He let a throwing knife fly, hitting the guard in the right shoulder making him drop the gun and fall to his knees.

As Felicity reached Oliver, he took her hand and ran with her to the truck. Diggle was just climbing into the cab and Oliver helped Felicity in, closing the door after her. Diggle was already pulling away as Oliver jumped into the back of the truck, narrowly avoiding being shot. He grabbed the bow that Diggle had left there for him and began to pick off the security guards. Thankfully the truck was bullet proof and the prisoners were lying on the floor, where they were protected, assuming a bullet didn't ricochet.

As they tore out of the facility, two jeeps were already following them. Oliver didn't want to blow the Jeeps up in case in killed the occupants but he loaded two exploding arrows and fired them at a tree trunk as they passed it. When he hit the button to detonate them, they blew a sizable chunk from the trunk and it collapsed over the road, making it impassable.

"Clear," he called to Diggle.

The M35 only had a maximum speed of 55 miles per hour but since they were heading straight for Central City, speed wasn't of the essence.

"Who are you?" one of the prisoners asked.

"He's the Hood," another answered.

"I thought he was called the Arrow now?"

"He's a friend, that's all we need to know," Tom cut across the chatter, silencing them.

Oliver kept his eyes on the road, wary that someone would catch up with them, but they made it to Central City Hospital without encountering any further resistance. Diggle stopped up five hundred feet away and even from this distance, the press could be seen waiting outside the ER.

"What are they doing here?" Alice asked.

"The Central City DA has been bought off," Oliver explained. "If you want justice, you need to tell the press your story."

Diggle came around the back of the truck and tossed the keys to Tom.

"You can take it from here."

Tom nodded his understanding. "Thank you." He told Oliver, then he looked to Diggle. "I owe you one."

Diggle nodded his acceptance.

"If you heard any names," Oliver cautioned, knowing that he had used Felicity's name in front of them. "Please keep it to yourself."

The prisoners nodded their understanding and offered their thanks. Oliver and Diggle left, joining Felicity at their car, while Tom headed to the front of the truck, to drive them the rest of the way to the hospital.

"Oh my god, you're bleeding!" Felicity said to Oliver as he got into the back of the car with her.

Diggle got into the driver's seat.

"It's just a flesh wound," Oliver assured her.

"Let me see." She said, getting the first aid kit out. After finding him in her Mini, all of their cars now had had a first aid kits.

Oliver removed his balaclava and the black top he'd been wearing and allowed her to fuss.

"It's not bleeding too badly, I think the heat from the bullet cauterised it a bit." Nevertheless, she cleaned and dressed the wound as Diggle drove away.

"So what now?" Felicity asked as she taped the dressing down.

"Now we have to head back to the resort," Oliver said.

"No, we don't need to go back; I found an old protocol that will seal the doors."

"We broke the loading bay doors down," Diggle reminded her.

"No, the protocol closes the internal doors in the event of a fire or an enemy attack, it's a cold war bunker, remember, and the designers were just a touch paranoid. Anyway, I managed to wire it into the phone system and I sent a signal from my tablet as we drove away. Given the age of the system, they probably won't know how to get the doors open again and they're steal reinforced, so it'll take quite a few hours to get through them all with a blowtorch, so they should still be trapped in there when the police arrive."

"That's very clever, Felicity," it was genius actually, but Oliver didn't have time to go into that right now, "but when Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak are discovered missing, the authorities will know that we were behind this."

He had a point but, "We're not going to get back in," Felicity sounded incredulous. "Most of the security personnel is outside and on high alert, remember?"

"We're not going in through the fence."

"I don't like the sound of that."

Oliver turned to her and took her hand. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes." How could she say anything else?

"Then trust me."

When trusting him involved jumping from a plane and parachuting back into the grounds, Felicity was inclined to revoke her earlier statement but she knew that he was right, people would suspect that Oliver was the vigilante if they were missing.

While she threw up, Oliver buried their parachute, then they ran back through the trees. Thankfully they encountered no security and arrived back at their cabin at a little after 5am.

"I'm really looking forward to using doors again," Felicity said as she jumped down from the window.

"Doors are overrated," Oliver teased. "Come on, we should try to get some sleep."

She nodded, heading into the bathroom to change and when she returned, she fell into his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.

"Do you know why I like you, Oliver?" she asked, surprising him.

"Because I'm just so darn cool?"

He could feel her lips twitch as she smiled. "Well, that's true I guess, but I meant before I knew how awesome you were."

"Why?"

"It was because you were unattainable. I always fall for unattainable men, ever since I first discovered that boys were useful for more than just killing spiders. Thankfully, I don't usually have to work in close proximity to them."

"Why do you think you go for unattainable men?" he wasn't sure of the reason for this conversation but he could tell that she had a point; an important one.

"I've already had my therapy, Oliver, I know why. It's because they're safe."

"And you end up alone."

"Alone is good. Alone is safe. I think you're familiar with that reasoning," she told him. "Do you know why I always volunteer for these dangerous missions?"

"Because you have a strong sense of morality."

"Well yeah, that's part of it."

"And the other part?"

"Because they don't scare me. I mean, I'm not an idiot, I don't want to die and I don't have a death wish, but I'm not as frightened as I should be,"

"Tell me why not?"

"Because I spent too much of my life living in fear; my fear of danger is dulled."

"Who hurt you?" he asked rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.

"You won't do anything foolish, will you?"

"I don't understand."

"My father… I spent my childhood in fear of him, of what he'd do next, of what mood he'd be in when he got home, how much brandy was left in the bottle. Sometimes I'd even provoke him; I knew it was coming and I just wanted to get it over with."

"And you thought I'd hurt him if I knew," he guessed.

"Mostly I just don't like to talk about it, but I'd be lying if I didn't worry that you'd seek revenge."

"You still love your father," he stated.

Felicity raised her head off his shoulder and looked down at him. "No! No that's not it at all."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I'm worried about what it'll do to you. Not only do you not want to kill anymore, I know that you're frightened about the man you could become, worried that if you're pushed over the edge, you could become destructive, and I don't want to be the cause of you feeling like that."

Suddenly a lot of things about her made sense. "You protected your little brother, didn't you?"

She nodded. "He could be clumsy. He didn't mean it but he was so small. I used say I'd done it."

"Where was your Mom in all this?"

"Too weak to stop him. I tried to protect her as well, because she was too under his control to leave him."

"But you said they divorced?"

"They did. When I was twelve, he broke my arm. I don't know how exactly, but apparently doctors can tell the difference between an accidental break and what he did. Child Services were called and they told my mom that if she didn't leave him, they'd take me and James away and put us in foster care. She finally chose us."

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Her scars weren't visible but they ran just as deep as his.

"It is what it is." She shrugged. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"I understand why you wouldn't." There was more to the story, twelve years of cruelty and seemingly, some hostility towards her mother, but he didn't want to force her to admit anything that she wasn't comfortable with.

"So that's why I offer myself as bait, because even if I can't fight like you do, someone has to help people who can't help themselves."

"Thank you for telling me. If you ever want to talk about your past, I want you to know that I'm here for you."

"Thank you."

She had trusted him and she deserved the same in return. "When I got to the island, I met a man called Yao Fei; the hood I wear is his, in honour of him and his daughter…"

* * *

(In my best announcer voice) Next on Three, Two, One; the return to Starling City. What will people make of the new couple? And why is Roy asking after the hood? Stay tuned for the next thrilling instalment of Three, Two, One!

Seriously, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review, they really inspire me.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Oliver and Felicity were awoken the following morning by a knock on the cabin door, which they opened to find a plain clothed detective and a uniformed officer, while they were both still in their night clothes and robes.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but we have a warrant to search all the cabins on the ground," the detective announced. "Mind if we come in and look around?"

"Doesn't sound like we have a choice, but we've got nothing to hide." Oliver opened the door wide so they could step in.

"What's going on?" Felicity asked.

The police officer went into the bedroom while the detective began looking in the kitchen cupboards.

"We can't say right now, this is an ongoing investigation. We'll have to interview you before you leave though, so can I take your name?" He pulled a notebook out.

"Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen," Felicity answered.

The detective looked up when he heard Oliver's name. "Huh," he said, then finished jotting the names down.

"What do you mean, 'before we leave'?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, we're shutting this place down; at least for a week, maybe a few months or more, so I'm afraid you'll have to cut your visit short."

"Can't you tell us anything?" Felicity tried again. Surely most guests would be uber-curious about why the police were here, so she tried to seem interested in gossip, rather than trying to discover how much they knew.

"I'm surprised you haven't seen it on the news."

"No modern technically is allowed here," Oliver explained.

"Nope, not even a phone." Felicity sounded peeved.

"Well, some former guests turned up at the hospital last night, making some worrying allegations, that's all I can say at the moment. Do you mind if I ask you some questions now?"

"Not at all," Oliver answered. "But do you mind if we make some coffee while we talk?"

"Go right ahead."

The officer had finished searching the bedroom and waited in the doorway, nodding the all clear to the detective.

"How long have you folks been here?"

"Just a few days, we arrived on Sunday," Oliver answered.

"And have you noticed any suspicious behaviour?"

They frowned as looked at each other as they pretended to consider the question.

"The blood samples they took were odd but not suspicious," Oliver said to Felicity.

"There has been a lot more staff recently too, maybe that's something."

"Blood samples?" The detective asked.

"Yeah," Oliver turned to face him again. "They said it was to test for conditions that could affect mood and libido, but the website didn't mention it so I thought it was odd, that's all. I wondered if maybe they wanted to sell it on Ebay or something."

"That happen to you a lot?" The detective asked.

"People stealing blood? No, but we've had one or two housekeepers try to auction off family property over the years."

"And the additional staff?"

"There just seemed to be a lot more people milling about," Felicity explained. "And I thought I heard dogs barking some nights, as if the grounds were being patrolled by guard dogs."

"But no one acted suspiciously around you?"

"No, nothing that stood out."

The detective looked to Oliver, who seconded Felicity's sentiment. The detective asked for their contact information, in case they needed to ask any further questions, then left.

"So, I guess we'd better start packing," Felicity suggested, although she didn't sound enthused.

"Yeah, guess so."

They headed back into the bedroom and began to repack their cases in silence.

"Things aren't going to change back in Starling City, are they?" Felicity suddenly asked.

"Change how?"

"Us. A mean a holiday romance is something it's easy to fall into, you're in different surroundings, away from your normal routines, your inhibitions are often lowered and people behave out of character and do things that they wouldn't normally and, well-"

"Felicity," he stopped up to her and took the clothes she was about to pack from her hands. "Maybe this might not have happened if we'd stayed home but now that it has, I really want to see where this goes."

"You're sure?"

"Of course. And besides, our relationship is going to be public knowledge soon anyway, so we might as well become a couple, since everyone will assume we are already."

"What do you mean by 'public knowledge soon anyway'?"

"We're at a couples counselling retreat and that detective recognised my name. Trust me, someone will talk to the tabloids before the end of the day, probably sooner and even if by some miracle they don't, chances are that the parking lot is already full of press vans."

"Great," she rolled her eyes. "I'm going to be the most hated woman in Starling."

"What?" Oliver frowned.

"You're Starling City's second most eligible bachelor, according to the Starling Daily News, and second only to Malcolm Merlin, so I'm guessing he'll be bumped this year and you'll be number one. A lot of people aren't going to like seeing you with someone beneath you."

She didn't mention that a lot of the staff already assumed they were a couple and that some of them were hostile towards her. She denied it, of course, but they didn't believe her, and why would they? It was special treatment for an IT girl to become executive assistant to the CEO. She didn't tell them that she hadn't wanted the job because they wouldn't believe her, and she didn't bother Oliver with the rumours because he had far more important things to worry about, than her being given the cold shoulder. Besides, this wasn't high school and she didn't need or want their approval.

"Felicity, you aren't beneath me."

"Sure I am, I'm a middle class IT geek, you're the next best thing to the Kennedy's, practically royalty."

Oliver smiled. "I won't lie, there will be gossip but we have to rise above it and not feed the fire. They can only photograph us in public places and as long as we're discrete, they'll soon lose interest in us."

"I know, I know, I can handle this, right? I mean, if I can handle you, I can handle your fangirls."

Oliver cocked his head to the side. "Did you just insult me? And what's a fangirl?"

Felicity smiled. "No, just an acknowledgement that you can be a difficult person sometimes, but understandably so, and a fangirl is exactly what it sounds like."

He leaned down and kissed her. "We'll get through this," he assured her.

"I know. Now, can I have my panties back, please?"

"What?" He looked confused.

Felicity pointed to the pile of clothes he had taken from her and he saw that they were undergarments.

"Oh, sorry." He handed them back and she placed them in the case.

A second later though, he leaned down and plucked a pair of red French knickers from the pile.

"I wouldn't mind if you wore these today."

Felicity flushed and snatched the panties back but she didn't repack them, instead placing them beside the case.

Oliver smiled, looking forward to seeing her model them.

"I'm surprised you're alright with us being public knowledge." Felicity tried distracting him to avoid further embarrassment.

"As long as the press don't learn the important truths about us, I don't really care what they print."

"And your family will be okay with this? I mean, your mom already think's I'm crazy."

"No she doesn't." Oliver smiled. "Besides, my last girlfriend tried to convict her for 503 counts of murder and have her sentenced to death and the one before her, was revealed to be the psychotic daughter of a mob boss; trust me, my mom is going to love you."

"And your sister?"

"My sister is dating a petty criminal cum wannabe vigilante from the Glades, she hardly has room to complain."

"Doesn't mean she'll like me," Felicity muttered.

"What about your family, when do I get to meet them?"

"If you'd been around in the summer, you might have met my brother, he came to visit for a few weeks. He'll probably hate you, by the way, he hates all my boyfriends but only because he loves me and no one is ever good enough, in his eyes, but he'll try to hide it."

"Good to know. So when do I get the pleasure of meeting him?"

"He's coming again for Christmas and New Year, so you can meet him then, if you still want to."

"You don't go to your mother's for Christmas?"

"Jewish, remember? And besides, she remarried a horrible man, basically 'my father: mark two' but without the violence. Instead, his favourite pass time is putting her and everything associated with her down, including her children, so we hardly ever see her."

"I'm sorry."

She turned to him and smiled. "Don't be." She took his hand, linking her fingers through his. "I still have my brother, and I made my own version of a family, with you and Dig. I'm a lot luckier than a lot of people."

Her optimism continually impressed him and he leaned down and kissed her.

"Me too," he told her.

She blushed again and resumed her packing.

"I know you don't celebrate the religious meaning behind the day, but if you feel like eating far too much turkey and being given a token of my affection, you're welcome to join us on Christmas day. Your brother too. It's not like we actually celebrate anything, other than overindulgence."

"That's sweet," she smiled but it slowly faded. "You know, the reason I don't celebrate isn't because it's a Christian holiday; historically speaking, it's celebrating the winter solstice, but it was co-opted by Christianity because it was one of the most popular pagan festivals in Europe. Christ was actually thought to have been born in September."

"You're just like a cute little encyclopaedia, if encyclopaedias could blush," he teased.

"Thank you, I think."

"So why don't you celebrate Christmas then?"

"We'd have a lot of people over because my dad always liked showing off how well we were doing; his family, my mom's family, aunts, grandparents, cousins, sometimes friends. It sounds like a great day, except that someone always irritated my father and after everyone left, it always meant a fight. I spent the whole day wondering who was going to get it and what would set him off. If you tell people that you don't like Christmas though, they try to talk you into celebrating, where as if you say you're of a different religion, they don't question it."

"Is that your way of telling me that you don't want to come?"

"No." She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest. "That's my way of telling you that I'm ready to put it behind me and see how other people do it."

Oliver smiled. "Well I can't promise you that there won't be any disagreements, but it's usually no worse than a barbed comment or two."

"Sold." She stretched up on her toes and kissed him, then they continued packing.

"You know, I'm going to miss this place in some ways," Felicity said. "Watching you try and bake brownies was hilarious, and I'll miss dancing with you. I'm kinda sad we'll miss the competition, we would've kicked ass."

"Well, if you want everyone to see how good we are, my sister does own a nightclub."

"I hardly think the argentine tango is big on the clubbing scene."

Oliver didn't contradict her but he did have an idea.

* * *

"I think I'm going to drop by the club before going home," Oliver said as they entered Starling City. "I want to check in with Diggle and Thea's most likely there too."

"Okay, can you drop me at the office?"

"You don't want to go home and unpack?"

"I really should see what we've missed and if my programs picked up anything unusual."

Felicity's main job seemed to be filtering information to Oliver, deciding which reports he needed to see, as well as which callers could speak to him and which had to leave a message, or even be redirected to an underling. Because they both essentially had second jobs, she had created programs to help her, which monitored the company's systems and highlighted inconsistencies, but it still needed a human to look over the results and check things were running as they should.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Okay, I'll drop your things into you this evening."

"Sounds good."

He stopped in front of the building and Felicity reached for the door handle, until Oliver grabbed her hand.

"What, no goodbye kiss?"

"Oliver, we're at work!"

"No, we're outside and I'm not letting you go without a kiss."

She hesitated for a moment. "All right, fine, but no kissing when we're inside the building, got it?"

"Ever?" he questioned.

"Yes, ever. And while we're on that, no overt displays of affection in front of Diggle."

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't want him to feel like a third wheel."

"All right, but you have to stay over at least three nights a week."

"This is not a negotiation, Oliver."

"Sure it is and if you want me to keep my hands to myself at work _and_ at the club, then you have to compromise."

"Why do I have to stay with you then? Why can't you stay with me three nights a week?"

"Because we'll have more privacy at my house."

"You live with your mom, your sister and a small army of servants; that's not privacy."

"Fine, then I'll stay with you."

"Fine!"

They stared at each other for a few moments, Oliver wearing a triumphant smile.

"So where's my kiss?"

Realising that she'd been beaten, Felicity gave in but with little grace, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Oliver caught her about the waist before she could pull away.

"You call that a kiss?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, if you want me to release you, you'll have to do a lot better than that."

Felicity looked around, making sure no one was watching them, then she grabbed his face in her hands and put every ounce of sexual frustration she had ever felt in his presence into the kiss and when she pulled away, he looked a little stunned.

"Be careful what you wish for, Mr Queen."

And before he could recover, she slipped from his grip and out of the car. At the main doors, she turned back and gave him a jaunty wave, accompanied by a wink.

When he finally had his wits about him, a wide grin spread over his lips. He couldn't remember feeling this happy since before the island.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

"You have some explaining to do!" Thea stormed over to him and Oliver took a step backwards.

"Thea?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

Thea shoved her phone into his face and he read the headline there.

'Oliver Queen and Mystery Woman Leave Couple's Retreat'

Below was a fuzzy picture of him and Felicity as they drove away from the resort.

"It's new," he tried to defend himself. "I came here to tell you."

"So who is she?"

"She's my assistant, her name is Felicity."

"You mean the woman who came to Walter's hospital room?"

"That's her."

"Oh my god! You're sleeping with the woman that Walter had an affair with?"

"Wait, what?!"

"Oh come on, a young beautiful blonde turns up at his bedside and the next thing we know, Walter leaves Mom? It was bad enough when you brought her to Mom's party, now you're dating her? Please!"

"Walter left Mom because of the secrets she was keeping, and because he thought she was involved in his kidnapping, which she sort of was. Felicity had nothing to do with their split."

"Right," her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Honestly, Thea, Felicity is a very sweet, kind, sort of geeky woman, not some fem fatale out to ruin out family."

"Being that you're bedding the fem in question, you would say that."

"Thea, please, this girl is very important to me."

"Well, how do you know that she's not some gold digger?"

"Because I went to her, I've done all the running."

Thea was clearly running out of steam and Oliver put his hands on her shoulders.

"I really care about this girl and I want you to give her a chance, okay?"

Thea took a deep breath.

"Please, Speedy, for me?"

"Fine," she huffed.

"Thank you." He kissed her forehead. "So how have you been?"

"Oh, you know," she turned away and headed for the bar. "Same old, same old."

"And how's Roy?"

"He's fine, I think." She picked up the inventory list and began checking it against the stocks in the bar.

"You think?"

"He's acting weird, distant."

"Any idea why?"

Thea looked torn but finally put the inventory down and looked at him. "He's obsessed with the hood again but this time, with getting some sort of revenge for being shot. He's going out every night, prowling the streets. We've had more than a few fights about it." She looked away as she said the last sentence.

"I'm sorry," he said. "He hasn't hurt you, has he?"

She shook her head.

"Thea?"

"He frightens me sometimes, he gets so angry but no, he hasn't hurt me. I don't know how to get through to him, Ollie."

"I'll talk to him," Oliver assured her.

"Thank you."

"Now, I have a favour to ask you."

Thea narrowed her eyes.

* * *

"That attire is hardly appropriate for the office, Miss Smoak."

Felicity looked up to see Isabel Rochev approaching.

"Just because you're boning your boss, doesn't give you the right to slack off."

"Officially, I'm still on vacation." Felicity tried her hardest to be polite but everything about this woman rubbed her up the wrong way. "Besides, only people coming to see Oliver will see my jeans and since he's not here, no one should have any reason to come up here."

Isabel stopped in front of her desk. "Just because he's sleeping with you doesn't make you special, it just makes you convenient."

"As convenient as you were?"

"You're nothing special."

"Jealous much?"

Isabel glared at her. "Don't think this will get you any special treatment. I can fire you, just like any other employee."

Felicity would like to see her try. Oliver would only let her go if he absolutely had no other choice and even then, they would still work together on his out of hours activities. Still, she didn't want Oliver drawn into a battle between her and Isabel and so she bit her tongue.

"Nothing to say, Felicity?"

"It's Miss Smoak to you; we are at work after all, and must behave in a professional manner at all times."

Isabel narrowed her eyes.

"May I pass a message into Mr Queen for you?"

"Tell him to come and see me the moment he returns."

"I will." Felicity looked back to her computer, essentially dismissing Isabel, who turned on her spiked heels and stormed off.

"I really hate that woman," Felicity muttered under her breath.

* * *

"I see the hood stopped an attempted bank robbery while I was gone," Oliver said throwing the newspaper down in front of Diggle.

"He did, and he was very effective too, if I may say."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"What's happening with the retreat?" Oliver asked.

"It seems that someone locked the underground facility down just after we left, so they were able to make multiple arrests, once they found a blow torch to get them out."

"And the victims?"

"Still unclear. They were injecting the viruses before they'd been properly tested. Most of the test subjects died; of the three we rescued, one is in intensive care and the other two seem relatively healthy, but it may be years before the long term effects are felt."

Oliver nodded. "How's your friend handling it?"

"Alice was the test subject and she'd only been through one round of treatment. The doctors are assuming that her body's immune system fought the virus off but like I said, long term effects might not show for years. Tom is coping, that's about all that can be said right now."

"Any talk of charges?"

"That's still being debated but arrests have been made in the DA's office and the CCPD, seems an anonymous source forwarded details about bribes."

Oliver smiled. "She is a wonder, isn't she?"

"She is," Dig agreed. "So do you want to tell me what happened between you two up there?"

"You've seen the gossip columns too?"

"Actually, no, I just know the both of you, and you've been dancing around this attraction for months. I could tell things were changing almost as soon as you got there, so spill."

"We're giving dating a try, I think. More than that, I can't say."

"Can't or won't?"

"Can't. Look, I want this to work but given the life we lead, I have no idea _how_ it's going to work yet."

"You'll find a way," Diggle assured him.

"This isn't going to make things awkward, is it?"

"As long as I don't come down here to find you two making whoopee on the desk, we should be fine," Dig said with a smile.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon by the time Felicity got home and after two nights with hardly any sleep, she was ready to crash. She tried to stay awake and wait for Oliver, but it soon became apparent that it was a losing battle, so she texted him the code for the main door and told him that she kept a spare key in her gym bag in the Arrow cave, and told him to either leave the bags as he must be pretty tired too, or climb into bed beside her. Then she drew her drapes, kicked her shoes off and climbed into her bed.

It only felt like minutes when a weight on the bed awoke her.

"Oliver?" she asked, sounding groggy. She was unable to see clearly since the drapes were closed but he was sitting on her side of the mattress rather than climbing in beside her. "What's wrong?"

She tried her hardest to wake up and reached for her beside lamp, hoping that light would help. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw who was sitting on her bed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?" As if it wasn't bad enough to wake up and find an uninvited man on you bed, she knew that she had no hope of fighting him off.

"The vigilante."

What! "What?"

"You know who he is, don't you?"

"Roy, I don't know where you're getting your information, but I have no idea who he is."

He leaned in close. "Don't lie to me, Lance told me that you could get a massage to him."

"Maybe I can, but I don't know who he is, any more than you do."

He leaned away and she hoped that perhaps he would leave.

"Then I'm sorry," Roy said, and he actually did look remorseful.

"It's okay, I won't tell anyone you broke in."

"I'm not sorry about that, I'm sorry about this." Without warning, he hit her in the side of the head and while she tried to fight the stars that swam in front of her eyes and the darkness that encroached from the edges of her vision, she lost the battle.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Oliver tried to be quiet as he entered the apartment, not wanting to wake Felicity, but he had a really bad feeling the moment he stepped inside. Silently he made his way along the hallway, past the kitchen which looked fine, and the bathroom, ditto, and into the lounge. The window to the fire escape was wide open and judging from the splintered wood, had been forced open with a crowbar, or something similar.

Fighting the fear, he made his way back into hallway and into the first bedroom, where the drapes were drawn, the bed rumpled and a note was lying on her pillow.

TELL THE HOOD TO CALL 555-412-815

He took out his phone and called Felicity's number, although he already suspected that she hadn't taken it with her. The ringing he heard from the next room conformed his suspicion, and he hung up.

He could easily track her phone since Felicity's system tracked all of them automatically. Figuring out her system to track this new number would be a lot harder however. His first instinct was just to make the call as the hood, but he knew that he had to play this smart.

He called anyway, without the voice disguiser, and when someone answered, he called "Felicity? Are you there?"

"She's unavailable at the moment."

It was Roy, and it took all his willpower not to let the other man knew that he knew.

"Look, I will pay whatever you want, I'm Oliver Queen, I have money, just don't hurt her."

"This isn't about you, this is about the vigilante. Give the note to Detective Lance, he'll know what to do with it."

"Let me talk to her first."

"No."

"How do I know she isn't already dead?"

"She isn't."

"Let me talk to her."

After a silence, he heard Roy say, "It's your boyfriend," then he finally heard her voice.

"Oliver?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, honestly, and as long as I'm as good as _gold_, I'll stay fine. Don't do anything stupid, okay? I'm not worth it."

"Felicity, you-"

"That's enough." Roy's voice came back on the line. "Give the note to Detective Lance. If I don't hear from the Arrow by tomorrow morning, I'll kill your little secretary."

Oliver counted back from three before answering but still, he couldn't stop some of the anger he felt from seeping into his voice. "If you harm one hair on her head, I'll kill you, I swear."

"Do what I say and she'll be fine."

Oliver hung up and picked up the note, calling Diggle as he left.

"Dig, someone's taken Felicity. He wants me to ask Lance to have the Arrow call him and I need you to trace the number for me."

"Give it to me."

Oliver did. "I'll be back once I've given this to Lance."

* * *

"Anything?" Oliver called from the door.

"Nothing yet," Diggle answered. "I have no idea how she does this hacking stuff but I called Lyla and she's looking into the number for me. I can tell you that it's an unregistered burner phone but that doesn't help us much."

"I know who has her, Roy."

"Roy? As in Starling City's newest super-soldier and your sisters main squeeze?"

"Yeah. I called the number as Oliver Queen and I recognised his voice." Oliver tried to ignore how wrong it was to see Diggle sitting in Felicity's chair. "She tried to tell me something when I spoke to her," Oliver said. "She told me that as long as she was 'as good as gold' she'd be fine."

"You think she's being kept at a location Cyrus Gold was at?"

"I do."

"Then that's the motel on Delgado Street, or the place on Crescent Circle."

"Roy would have no way to know about the hotel so he probably took her to Crescent Circle, where he was given the serum."

"So are you going to call him as the arrow, or take him by surprise."

"I don't know," Oliver admitted. He wasn't used to indecision. "I don't know which has the best chance of keeping her safe."

"How long do we have?"

"Until morning."

"Then we have plenty of time to strategize."

* * *

"What do you want with him?" Felicity wanted to know. Her head was pounding but knowledge was power, and she needed as much knowledge as she could get. She had a little knowledge already but not the full picture.

"Revenge," Roy answered.

"Why?" She was tied to a chair in the middle of a strange room, with a broken centrifuge in one corner. She had tested her bonds but they were unbreakable and even if she could get free, she was no match for Roy, not even with everything that Diggle had taught her.

"Because he shot me!"

"But I thought you used to help him?"

"So did I," Roy sounded bitter. "How do you know about that?"

"Because I helped him track down where Cyrus had taken you, here, if I'm not mistaken. The vigilante saved your life."

"It wouldn't have been in danger if he had just let me help him!"

"Roy, the arrow saves people."

"Not everyone."

"No, but he does good in this city. Why do you want to take him out?"

"Because he's a loose cannon and someone has to do it. Wait, if you helped him find me, you must know who he is?"

"He contacts me by email."

"How do you know it's him?"

"Because I've seen him, I've just never seen is face. Besides, I can see the aftermath of my research on the news."

"Did you know he shot me?"

"No, but if it was when I think it was, I can see why."

Roy turned and glared at her. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that you brought me to Circle Crescent, which means that this place means something to you, which probably means that you were involved in the Cyrus case. He'd been injected with something that made him as tough as concrete and you wanted to go after him. I know how well that worked, Roy; you nearly died and would have if the arrow hadn't revived you."

Roy had balled his hands into fists at his side.

"Judging from when you hit me, you seem to have the same super-freaky strength and toughness. Do you honestly think you could have defeated someone who had the strength you now have?"

Roy looked torn but Felicity realised that having your argument torn to shreds by logic could do that to a person.

"You're mad because he wouldn't let you fight beside him, and I'm your means of exacting revenge, right? What will you do if he comes for me? Kill him?" She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Oliver would come for her, but she had to maintain the deception that she didn't know who he was. It was better that Roy kill her than the arrow; Oliver could find another computer geek to help him, but the city couldn't just go out and find a new hero.

"Yes, I'll kill him for what he did to me!"

"But doesn't that make you one of the bad guys? If you do this, Roy you prove the Arrow right, that you weren't cut out to be a hero."

"Shut up!" His fist slammed into the wall, cracking the brickwork.

Felicity almost fell sorry for him, he was so mixed up and confused, but the throbbing in her head reminded her that he had hurt her, and that made her rather less sympathetic.

Roy pressed his head against the wall, almost looking defeated.

"Do you know what I was injected with?" he finally asked.

"No. I know that the subject needs a sedative before being injected, and I know that most people who take it don't survive, and that whoever made Cyrus is trying to make more super-humans, but I don't know how it works or who's behind it."

Roy began pacing.

"You used to worship this guy, right? Didn't he rescue you from that killer in the Glades last year?" Felicity kept trying to reason with him.

Roy didn't answer.

"He rescued me, just a few weeks ago. The Count held me hostage so that he could inject Oliver with the vertigo, he wanted to get all of starlings city's elite hooked on the drug, but the vigilante got there first. He saved my life."

"He. Shot. Me!" Roy's jaws were clenched to tight that his mouth didn't open as he spoke and he bared his teeth, like a rabid animal.

"To keep you safe." She licked her lips. "If you let me go, now that you're virtually indestructible, the arrow might let you help him. You wouldn't be risking your life now, or at least, you'd have a much lower chance of being killed."

"You just want me to let you go."

"Well duh. Is it working?"

"No." His reply was a little too forced and emphatic to be real.

"What do you think Thea will say when she realises that you killed her brother's girlfriend?"

Roy looked up, sharply. "You're his secretary."

"And girlfriend. You know how loyal Thea is, do you honestly think she could be with a murderer?"

"I'm not a murderer." Roy's conviction was slipping and he couldn't hold her gaze.

"Is getting revenge on him really worth losing Thea? I think she really loves you."

"I know."

"Do you love her?"

Roy glared at her again.

"Roy, it's not saying much, but I probably know the vigilante better than anyone else. He's a hero, not only for the people he saves, but for the example that he provides. People look up to him and since he started doing what he does, people in Starling City are ten times more likely to get involved when they see a crime being committed, and crime over all is down ten percent. Do you want to take that away from the city, just because he hurt your feelings."

"It wasn't just my feelings, Felicity!"

"And you don't look very hurt, Roy!"

Roy began to pace back and forth.

"It's not too late, you can end this."

Roy shook his head. "No, I can't,"

"You want so much to matter, don't you, Roy?" she asked. "You want to make a real difference to this world, to leave it a better place than you found it but the irony is, being a hero isn't about you, and your desire to be somebody is taking you down the wrong path. If you kill me or the vigilante, this world will be worse off. Not many people will miss me but I'm all the family my brother has, he'll be devastated and Oliver, he's so damaged by what happened to him on the island, another loss might be more than he can take. Best case scenario, he'll leave again and this time, he won't come back. Do you think Thea could handle losing him again? Killing has a ripple effect, Roy, you don't just hurt the person you kill, you hurt everyone who cares for them."

"Stop talking."

"If you do manage to kill the vigilante, you'll kill a man, a flawed man, true but he's more than just a man; you'll be taking a beacon of hope away from a city- hell, from a country that desperately needs a hero; someone people can to look up to, someone they can emulate."

"SHUT UP!"

"No, I won't, because if you do this, there's no going back, you'll never be the hero that you want to be. It'll destroy you, Roy, because you aren't a bad man, and you won't be able to live with what you've done."

"Shut up!" me might have meant to shout again but the words came out as a sob. "Shut up." He began to cry in earnest then, hugs sobs wracking his body.

"It's okay, Roy, it's not too late."

* * *

Although he had come prepared for all eventualities, Oliver intended only to recon the scene. Ideally he could wait until morning before making the phone call, giving himself more time to plan but if things were getting out of hand, he was prepared to take Roy out now. He had a special arrow ready to fly, one that he hoped would stop Roy, and despite Roy's ties to Oliver's family and his desire not to kill any more, he would kill Roy if he had to and right now, he couldn't see any other way.

As he approached the room, the same room where he had faced Cyrus Gold and resuscitated Roy, he could hear Felicity babbling, but he couldn't make out what's he was saying until he got closer.

"_You want so much to matter, don't you, Roy?"_ he heard Felicity say and while he could hear the fear in her voice, he could hear something else too, compassion.

"_You want to make a real difference to this world, to leave it a better place than you found it but the irony is, being a hero isn't about you, and your desire to be somebody is taking you down the wrong path."_

She _was_ babbling, but she was also right. Given his new powers, Roy only had two courses of action, to act on his aggression, or channel it and use it for good. Without help, he was unlikely to choose the second option.

He continued to listen as Felicity tried to reason with Roy and realised that perhaps, there was another option.

Leaving his personal feelings aside, Roy hadn't crossed the line yet and he could still be redeemed. He would be hard to teach, his anger would make him stubborn and belligerent and despite his new powers, there was more to being a hero than strength. It had taken Oliver years to learn not just the skills, but the discipline that he needed to do his job. He had once told Felicity that he didn't like other vigilantes because they didn't show his restraint, and that was the absolute truth.

Strength without thought was reckless and dangerous. Without help, Roy could end up doing some real damage, intentional or not.

He heard Roy start to cry.

"_It's okay, Roy, it's not too late,"_ he heard Felicity tell Roy and as he stepped into the doorway, he tried to believe that.

Roy was sitting with his back to the wall, his head on his knees, and Oliver aimed the arrow at him; he was willing to give the kid a chance but he wasn't stupid.

"She's right, Roy. It isn't too late."

Roy's head shot up and he looked from Oliver to Felicity.

"Don't even think about it." Oliver warned. "This arrow is filled with acid and as soon as it hits you, it'll be injected into your heart. Not even you can survive that."

"Don't hurt him," Felicity pleaded.

"I won't, unless he gives me a reason to." Oliver slowly edged closer to Felicity, poised to react to any movement from Roy.

Roy's jaw was clenched but after a moment, he seemed to sag. "Take her," he said, his voice filled with defeat as his head fell back onto his knees.

Oliver knew that appearances could be deceptive however and keeping the bow loaded, he pulled a knife from his pocket and cut the plastic cable tie that held her left wrist to the chair, then he handed her the knife, his right hand pulling the bow string taught again.

Felicity quickly cut her other bonds and got up, holding the knife defensively.

"Go." Oliver told her.

"Not without you."

"You're bleeding, you need to get it seen to."

"I'm fine." She put her hand to her head, where Roy had struck her, and felt something tacky in her hair, her finger tips came away red. Still, it didn't seem like a lot of blood and it was clotting, but no wonder she had a headache.

"Go!"

"If I leave now, Roy might kill you. I'm innocent, and he doesn't want to hurt me."

She was right and the same thought had occurred to Oliver, but that didn't mean that he was happy about her staying.

"Felicity, get out of here, now!"

"No!" She put the knife down on the chair she had been tied to and walked over to Roy, kneeling before him. "Roy?" She put her hands on either side of his face and tried to pull his head off his knees. He resisted for a few moments but finally looked up and into her eyes.

Oliver moved around so that he still had line of sight on Roy.

"He's right, you should get out of here." Roy told her.

"No. You're perched on a precipice and I'm not willing to let you fall off. Thea would never forgive me," she tried to joke, which didn't exactly raise a smile but did make the edges of Roy's lips twitch.

"I want to help," he confessed. "I want to be a part of the solution, not the problem."

"It won't be easy," she cautioned. "You'll see and do a lot of stuff that will make it hard to sleep at night. You'll question yourself constantly, and you'll feel guilty because sometimes you'll fail and innocent people will get hurt, sometimes people that you love. You'll have to learn to be patient and cautious and maybe hardest of all, is that no one can ever know that it was you who saved them, because if the authorities know who you are, they _will_ stop you. Its long, hard, thankless and payless work."

"How do you know so much about it?"

She smiled enigmatically. "Can you handle that? Because if you can't, you need to walk away now; go home and marry Thea and raise a brood of rugrats, or something."

Roy finally smiled. "If all that's true, why do you do it?"

"Because I can, and if I don't help, who will?"

Roy looked from Felicity to Oliver as he considered her points, and Oliver was impressed with the understanding she had showed. With her blonde hair and effervescent personality, it would be easy to underestimate her and even knowing how good she was, Oliver wasn't above being pleasantly surprised.

"Okay, well if I haven't screw things up too badly," he looked to Oliver. "I'd like you to train me."

Felicity looked to Oliver, her eyes asking him to give the kid a chance, and he lowered his bow.

"The only reason you're not dead is because you're important to someone I care about, and the only reason I'm agreeing to this, is because it's much harder for you to get yourself killed now."

Roy nodded, not even trying to defend himself and as Oliver deactivated his voice synthesiser, Felicity came to stand beside him. Somewhat reluctantly, Oliver lowered his hood but Roy didn't show any signs of recognition until he removed the mask.

"Whoa! Oliver? Wait- What- Who-"

Oliver would be lying if he said that the shock on his face didn't please him a little.

"Wait, you and Felicity- holy shit, what did I do? How am I still alive?"

"That's a good question," Oliver wasn't quite ready to forgive and forget yet. "And if you even think of telling Thea, remember, this arrow has your name on it."

"What? No, of course not. I am so sorry, man. I had no idea she was your girl, if I had-"

"You'd what? Have kidnapped someone else? Not have given her that cut on her head?" Oliver was close to losing his temper and Felicity put a warning hand on his arm.

"You shot me, don't forget!" Roy got to his feet.

"Because you were being reckless! You didn't know what you were up against-"

"Because you wouldn't tell me!"

"-And you nearly died! You did die, in fact, in this very room, and I will not apologise for trying to keep you safe!"

"Oh no, of course not, people like you don't apologise to people like me, do they?!"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Okay, that's enough!" Felicity stepped between them, her arms outstretched, a palm against each of their chests to stop them inching any closet to one another. "Time out, both of you!" She turned to Roy. "You, meet us in the alley behind verdant in two hours."

"Why? Where are you going?"

"You left a nice little ransom note for Detective Lance, remember? I have to let him know that I'm safe and convince him that you had nothing to do with this, then I'd kind of like to stop by the ER, just to make sure you didn't do any serious damage; my head isn't as thick as yours."

Roy looked contrite. "Okay, fine, two hours." He looked from Felicity to Oliver, then turned to leave.

"Are you really okay?" Oliver asked once they were alone.

Felicity smiled at him. "Yeah. I'm kinda worried that I just landed you with a huge mistake though."

Oliver pulled her into a hug. "That was the best solution and if it doesn't work out, we'll deal with it together."

They stayed like that for longer than they should, but they had work to do, and only two hours to do it in.

* * *

Roy was feeling rather contrite by the time he was due to meet up with Oliver and Felicity, especially since Officer Lance had been making public appeals on the television all evening, asking for anyone who had information related to the kidnapping of Felicity Smoak to contact the police.

He now realised that Felicity had been Lance's link to the arrow and since he'd kidnapped her, Lance had no way to contact the vigilante.

This whole thing was a giant clusterfuck, yet another giant screw up in the life of Roy Harper.

He wasn't cut out to be a hero, but he also wasn't cut out to sit back when someone else was in trouble. Besides, ever since he'd been injected with that freaky potion, he'd been even angrier than usual,

He could just about hear the base beat of the music from inside the club and found himself tapping his foot in time with it, trying to distract himself, before he lost his nerve and fled.

Anger had been all that had sustained him in the last few weeks but now that he had kidnapped someone, the arrow's girl no less, he felt rather foolish and not a little contrite. How had he allowed himself to go from wanting to be a hero, to kidnapping and assault?

He wanted to blame the potion but the truth was, he was angry, and had been angry for as long as he could remember. He'd be lying if he said this his new abilities didn't give him a sense of superiority but he knew that feeling was dangerous.

With great power comes great responsibility. Yes, it was just a comic book quote but rarely had a truer thing been said. Roy had power now, but he didn't want to hurt people, he didn't want to become one of the bad guys, causing the same suffering that he had witnessed growing up.

He was almost calm when he saw Oliver standing at the end of the alley, mask on, hood raised. He gestured for Roy to follow him.

"Where's Felicity?" Roy dared to ask as he followed Oliver.

"It would have taken too long to come back here and change, so I left her in Officer Lance's care. She'll join us when the hospital release her, and you better pray they do release her."

"Or what, you'll kill me or something?"

Oliver turned around and gave him a chilling smile. "No, but she'll be pissed if she has to stay in overnight and trust me when I say, she can make your life a living hell."

"What, her? Really?"

"She might be small and blonde, but don't underestimate her, she's the best at what she does."

"Which is what, exactly?" Roy was starting to feel uneasy as they entered the south alley behind the club, the most isolated side of the building.

"Computers. She could wipe out every digital record of your existence, which would make life rather difficult, especially if you were arrested or something. Or she could put you on the FBI's most wanted list, with a very creative criminal resume to boot, I'm sure, or the terrorist watch list. If she's feeling playful, she'll just put an embarrassing viral video of you onto you tube, and trust me when I say that if it doesn't already exist, she can fake it."

Roy kept looking behind them as they walked, wondering how far he was from help if he was being lured into a trap. Finally Oliver stopped at a door and entered a code into a keypad, although it was so dark that Roy wasn't sure what he was doing, until the opened the door.

"After you."

Roy stepped inside, looking about in awe at the space, which was clearly the arrow's base of operations.

He walked slowly over to the desks, which seemed to be the hub of the room, and noticed Oliver's driver standing there, the one who had cleaned up his leg wound.

"You're in on it too?" Roy asked.

Diggle nodded.

"Like I said before, Diggle is ex-special forces," Oliver explained.

"Is Felicity okay?" Diggle asked.

"I think so. She should be here soon, so you can see for yourself."

"Shouldn't she go home and to bed, the two of you only just got back from taking down the retreat?"

"She has a head injury, hopefully minor but she shouldn't sleep for a few hours."

Diggle nodded. "And Lance?"

"Thought that the arrow had seen his appeals on television," Oliver explained.

"So this is where it all happens?" Roy said with wonder.

"No, this is where the training and the planning happens," Oliver corrected. "Have you made up with my sister yet?"

"No."

"That's good."

"Why?"

"Because you are going to break up with her." Oliver said.

"What? Why?"

"Partly because you've been a jerk to her but mostly, because as you so brilliantly proved tonight, people close to you will become a target, and I won't let you do that to my sister."

"Oh, but it's okay for you to risk Felicity's life?"

"First of all, I brought Felicity into the operation before I knew how much danger she'd be in and secondly, she's vital to what we do here and as much as I hate putting her in danger, I can't do this without her."

"Surely being your sister, Thea's already in danger."

"I can't do anything about being related to her," Oliver said with genuine regret, "but I can do something about you. I work very hard to keep my identity a secret so that she's safe, but you're sloppy."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Roy wanted to know, his anger returning and making him belligerent.

"I'm the man who's already killed two people with your powers, that's who!"

"Cool it guys," Diggle said. "Getting worked up doesn't help anyone."

"Wait, two guys? There was someone other than that Cyrus person Felicity was telling me about?"

"I've encountered the serum you were injected with before," Oliver admitted. "You might think you're bad, but I've met and killed guys a thousand times more dangerous than you before, so if you want in, you _will_ listen to me and do as I say."

"I can't leave you guys alone for two minutes," Felicity said as she descended the stairs. "Honestly, can we dial down the testosterone? It's starting to feel like a locker room in here."

Oliver made his way over to her, his anger forgotten for the moment.

"Are you all right?"

She smiled up at him and their gazes locked. They seemed to communicate more than just a smile with that look, it was almost like they were telepathic, speaking without words. Roy had never experienced anything like that before, not even with Thea, who was his longest term relationship to date.

"I'm fine," Felicity assured Oliver. "Two stitches, and instructions to go back if I get dizzy or have double vision or something. Although seeing two of you might not be such a bad thing."

Her attempt to lighten the mood didn't appease him.

"Let me see?" he asked, leading her into better light. He began to search through her hair. "They did a neat job."

Felicity pointed at Roy. "You owe me a haircut! They had to shave part of my head." She clearly wasn't happy.

"Only a little bit," Oliver tried to reassure her. "No one will notice, I promise."

Felicity huffed. "How's your shoulder?"

"It's fine," he assured her.

"Have you changed the dressing today?" His silence spoke volumes. "Take your jacket and shirt off, I want to see."

She gathered the supplies while he removed his quiver, jacket and shirt.

"Oh, man…" Roy exclaim as he saw the scars. "What happened to you?"

Oliver glared but didn't answer, and sat down to allow Felicity to clean and redress his wound. There was a little seepage from his activities earlier tonight but it wasn't a bad injury to begin with, so he knew he hadn't done himself any serious harm.

"Did you get those on the island?" Roy apparently couldn't take a hint. "What happened to you there?"

It was Felicity who finally answered.

"What do you think happened?" she asked. "Tea parties with hugs and kittens and puppies?"

"No, I- They said it was a desert island, I thought he was alone."

"Clearly, that assumption was wrong."

"That's something we'll have to work on," Oliver interrupted. "Assumptions lead to mistakes, and mistakes get people killed."

"You're not going to tell me how you became the vigilante?"

"Sure." He pulled his shirt back on once Felicity was finished. "Before he died, my father told me that he had failed the city, that our family's money was gained on the suffering of others, and he asked me to right his wrongs. That's what I'm doing."

"That's it, that's all I get? Where did you learn to fight like that? To shoot arrows?"

"That's all you get for now," Oliver said. "And that's more than you deserve."

"Right, well it's nearly 2am, so I think that's a good time to call it a night," Diggle said. "Roy, I'll see you here at 10am tomorrow."

"You? Why?"

"Because I'm going to train you."

"But I thought-"

"Who do you think I train with?" Oliver cut him off.

"But I don't need training, I already know how to fight and I'm ten times stronger than either of you, and twenty times stronger than her."

Roy was too busy glaring at Oliver to notice the look Diggle gave Felicity, and the gesture he made to the steel drawers behind her.

Realising what he meant, Felicity reached into one of the drawers and withdrew a device that she made, based on Sara Lance's sonic device. She had built it to help Oliver and Diggle overcome its effects but not having seen Sara's own device then, she'd had to make educated guesses about a lot of things, and had made it using directional speakers, so it could be aimed at one person, rather than affecting a whole crowd.

The effect was immediate and Roy was brought to his knees, his hands plastered over his ears. She turned the device off before it could do his ears any permanent damage.

"Strength doesn't count for a hell of a lot in a fight, which is why the woman twenty times weaker than you, just brought you to your knees," Diggle said with some sympathy, patting Roy's shoulder. "I'll see you here tomorrow, 10am."

All three of them left before Roy had properly recovered and as he watched them go, he realised that he might have bitten off more than he could chew.

Rather than getting to his feet, he sat down on the floor, seriously wondering if he had what it took to be a hero.

* * *

**AN:** Sorry for worrying all you Roy fans out there. I basically see Roy as a mixed up, angry kid who has good intentions, but makes pretty stupid decisions a lot of the time. I can't really say any more about his story resolution, but I hope you'll like where I'm heading with his character.

Also, sorry if you were hoping for Oliver to swoop in and save the day. I get really tired of the damsels in distress trope (both in fic and on shows) and I wanted Felicity to be able to rescue herself for a change.

Finally, Happy New Year! Think about me as you countdown three, two, one to midnight! If I could have Oliver waiting to kiss you, I would... once I was finished with him. ;-)


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

"Your place or mine?" Oliver asked Felicity once Dig had driven off. They were standing in front of his car, since she had caught a cab from the hospital.

"Mine. I need to check on the damage and find out how Roy broke in."

"Diggle already took care of that," Oliver assured her.

"I still want to go to my place."

"Why?"

"Because, Mr Queen, I want to do some very bad things to you this evening and knowing that your mother is under the same roof, is going to put a bit of a crimp in my style."

"You have a head injury," he said, his hand brushing over her hair. "I'm not sure if engaging in athletic sex is really what the doctor ordered."

"All right, then you had better remove my temptation and go home."

"I'm not leaving you alone with a head injury."

"Fine, but you do know that temptation is not good for stress levels, and stress hormones raise blood pressure, which is probably also not good for head injuries."

"I'll make you some tea to calm you down," he said, unable to keep the smirk off his lips.

"Tea? I'm finally dating the legendary Oliver Queen and all I get is tea? I don't mind telling you that I'm very disappointed in you, Oliver."

He kissed her softly but pulled away when she tried to deepen the kiss.

"Kill joy!"

He guided her around to the side of the car and opened her passenger door for her.

"I'll make it up to you."

"Promises promises."

* * *

After a careful shower, and an even more careful shampoo, Felicity had left her hair to curl naturally, not feeling like straightening it with a sore head, nor wanting to put it up, which might pull on the skin around her stitches.

Although they were both still supposed to be on vacation until after Christmas, they headed into the office after a late breakfast, as Felicity had noticed some unusual numbers coming from the Chinese office, which Oliver needed to look into. Oliver tried to object to her joining him but she insisted, not having had an opportunity to look through all the data yesterday. Besides, she wasn't really someone who enjoyed being idle.

She showed Oliver the data in question and left him to dig deeper, while she returned to her desk to continue her work from yesterday. Oliver later headed downstairs to talk to the COO, leaving her to man the fort, which wasn't difficult since they were both still supposed to be off, and the only phone call that came through was from his mother, because he'd switched his cell phone off, apparently.

When the elevator dinged, she didn't look, up, expecting it to be their lunch order, only the click of heels on the marble floor made her look up.

"Felicity, I'm surprised to see you in work, given that you were making headlines last night."

"What can I say, I love my job."

Isabel gave her a plastic smile. "Please don't be too mad that Oliver couldn't visit you in the hospital last night, it's my fault, we had a lot of… paperwork to go through."

Felicity's first thought was, how did she know that Oliver wasn't at the hospital with her, then she realised that Isabel was trying to make her jealous, to sow the seeds of doubt about where Oliver had really been the night before.

Oliver might have been off the radar, but the arrow wasn't, and Felicity knew that he hadn't had time to do anything with Isabel Rochev.

"Oh well, work comes first," Felicity smiled sweetly.

She was glad that she had proof that Isabel was lying otherwise, she might have doubted him, especially given his past reputation and what had happened is Russia. Now though, she would never believe Isabel's taunts, no matter how insecure she felt.

"That's very… _understanding_ of you." The way Isabel phrased it, 'understanding' clearly meant 'pathetic, needy and desperate'.

Felicity shrugged. "If you want my sloppy seconds, you're welcome to try, although I have to admit, it does strike me as rather pathetic, but whatever floats your boat, right?"

"I think Oliver would be _my_ sloppy second, don't you?" Isabel bristled.

Since Felicity hadn't actually slept with him yet, technically Isabel was right but for almost a year, she had been privy to a side of Oliver that Isabel would never know. That made her feel a little proprietary. Still, she wasn't about to get into a pissing contest over a man. If she ever had cause to doubt Oliver, she wouldn't be with him, she wasn't the sort of woman who could be with someone she didn't trust.

"Whatever gets you through the night, Isabel. Now, was there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, I was hoping to see Oliver, actually."

"I'm afraid he's unavailable at the moment."

"I know he came in this morning."

"He did, but he has a meeting."

"With who?"

"It's 'whom', and didn't he tell you last night?"

"We had… other things on our mind."

Felicity smiled as sweetly as she was able. "He's seeing Peter Layton."

"Why wasn't I informed?"

"Because our CEO is allowed to talk to our Chief Operating Officer without seeking your permission."

Isabel narrowed her eyes. "When he comes back, tell him I want to see him, immediately."

"Of course." She looked back to her screen and after a moment, the click of heels signalled her retreat.

Oliver returned a little later, just as she was paying the Big Belly Burger delivery man.

"Keep the change."

"Burgers for lunch?" Oliver teased.

"I was kidnapped last night, I need comfort food," she glared.

"Well, I hope you got enough for two."

"I was going to share but now I'm not so inclined to."

Oliver gave her 'the look'.

"Oh my God, the great Oliver Queen cannot be giving me puppy dog eyes."

"Is it working?"

"Yes but lucky for me, I ordered for you too."

"You're a life saver," he grinned. "Any messages?"

"Two." She passed him the message slip she'd filled in when his mother called. "And Isabel wants you to call her ASAP."

"Did she say why?"

"Nope."

"I'll get around to it. Is this message from the elder or the younger Ms. Queen?" he asked, holding the slip of paper up as they went through to the couches in his office.

"The old Queen." She blushed as she realised what she had said. "I mean, the older Queen, or elder Queen; I don't mean to imply that your mom looks like a drag queen or anything like that."

Oliver was smiling at her slip. "I understood," he assured her.

"Good." She gave him a relieved smile and decided distraction was her best option. "So, did you find out what the problem was?" she asked, before taking, big bite of her burger.

"Yeah, they're having trouble sourcing some supplies due to political activists. They've sabotaged a few government mines, which is driving prices up. I'm going to see if Isabel will go out there for a week or so, see if she can smooth things over, grease some wheels. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, the same as I was this morning." She sounded weary.

"Sorry, I'll try to rein in the overprotective vibe."

Felicity grinned. "A little bit of overprotective is okay."

"Good. So, do you feel up for a dancing lesson this afternoon?"

"What?"

"Thea is holding this dancing competition at the club tomorrow night and we can't enter because, well, nepotism, but she asked if we'd do a demonstration and since we never got to dance properly at the retreat…"

"Oh, so Thea _just happened_ to be holding a dance competition tomorrow night?"

Oliver gave her an innocent smile. "Yeah, must be fate or something."

"Or something. You can't seriously expect me to dance in front of people."

"Why not? You're good, and I booked us a two hour lesson for today and tomorrow afternoon, so we can perfect the routine. Of course, that was before you were kidnapped so if you're not up to it…"

"I'm fine, I'm just not sure I'm good enough for a display dance; I haven't danced regularly since high school."

"Oh, dance wasn't on the curriculum at M.I.T.?"

"No," she smiled.

"Well, I haven't danced since before the island."

"Oh come on, your family throws balls all the time."

"Yeah, where we do the two step shuffle, not proper dancing."

"But you're really good at it and I'm… awkward."

"You were looking forward to dancing at the retreat."

"That was in front of a few, mostly middle aged people, who also couldn't dance. Verdant gets hundreds of people in every night."

"It's licenced for twelve hundred, actually."

"Not helping!"

"I'm sorry," his smile said that he wasn't at all sorry, but the fact that he enjoyed her insecurities was probably a good thing, otherwise he would soon find her annoying. "Look, I'm not doing this to embarrass you; I thought you enjoyed the dancing and were looking forward to showing off a little and if I'm honest, I was looking forward to showing you off too."

"You were?"

"Yes," he laughed. "You might feel out of practice but you were really good. I don't get to tell anyone but Diggle how exceptional you are, and he already knows, but this is something I can show the world and even if we do foul up, trip over and make total fools of ourselves, at least we'll do to together, and have fun doing it."

"All right, fine, but I have nothing to wear."

"I look the liberty of ordering you a pair of dance shoes and your outfit should arrive tomorrow. Well actually, Thea ordered them, I thought she'd know what would suit you better."

"You think of everything."

"I try," he grinned. "And I have you to remind me of the things I forget."

Their lunch was interrupted a few moments later, as Isabel's clacking heels signalled her returned.

"Oliver, I need to speak with you, it's urgent. I expected your secretary to pass my message on."

"She did," Oliver explained. "I'm just enjoying a lunch break first."

Isabel eyes their burgers and fries. "I'm surprised anyone can keep a decent figure eating that junk."

Felicity took a deep breath. "What can I say, I'm a genius and the brain burns _a lot_ of calories."

Isabel ignored her and looked to Oliver. "We have a problem with our China office, Oliver."

"I know, Felicity brought it to my attention this morning. I was going to ask if you could spare a week to go out there and try to sort things."

"Fine, I'll have my secretary make our travel arrangements."

"I'm not coming," Oliver corrected. "One of us should stay here to man the fort, so to speak."

"Fine, then I'll stay."

"You're a better negotiator than I am, Isabel and besides, you don't trust me to interact with our overseas holdings on my own, while I on the other hand, do trust you."

She couldn't really argue with his reasoning, since he was turning her own words back on her, but she wasn't happy about it.

"Fine, I'll leave this evening. I assume you can return to work early."

"I'm here, aren't I? But do you really want to go over Christmas? Don't you want to be with your family?"

"I have no family that I want to see, and the Chinese don't celebrate Christmas."

"If that's the way you want to play it."

"My secretary will make my arrangements." She turned to leave but then turned back, as if she had forgotten something. "By the way, thank you for helping me with the year-end report yesterday."

Felicity watched Oliver's reaction closely, wondering how much he knew. He just looked confused.

"You're welcome, I guess?"

Isabel left without clearing his confusion up.

"What was that about?" Felicity asked.

"She called last night, just after I got back to the arrow cave after giving Lance the note Roy left, she asked me where the hard copy of the report for last year was."

"You mean you actually knew?"

"Not exactly; I told her to call the finance department, they keep hard copies of all our accounts and financial reports, but I don't know where they keep them. Why?"

Felicity hadn't been planning to tell him, it was too petty to bother Oliver with, but since Isabel had tried once again to make Felicity question Oliver, she felt he needed a warning.

"It's nothing, really. When she came by earlier, she tried to imply that you were with her while I was in the hospital last night, but I know that's not true. I just can't figure out what she hoped to accomplish."

"My guess would be, divide and conquer," he said. "She still wants to take QC from me."

"Why?"

"That, I don't know."

"Are you sure? Revenue is up double digits since you took over."

"I'm not as incompetent as she hoped, and no, I'm not sure, it's just a feeling I get. She told me that she can't afford to fail and she failed in her takeover attempt. If I had to guess, I'd say she was trying to drive a wedge between us and take _you_ away from me, you're one of the reasons I've been able to keep on top of things."

"Oliver, you could do this job without me."

"That's nice of you to say but without my card-counting side-kick, I wouldn't be nearly as proficient as I am. I know you didn't want this job and I probably don't say this often enough, but I'm really glad you took it."

"Thank you, that's really sweet of you to say."

"I am capable of it on occasion, just don't tell anyone."

"Your secret's safe with me." Felicity smiled.

* * *

The music that Verdant's DJ had found for them to use was a rock version of the Libertango, which began slowly with a traditional strings introduction, then after a feew bars, changed to rock, with electric guitars taking the lead.

The outfit Oliver had ordered was an off the shoulder lace dress, made from a nude fabric with a black lace overlay, which made her appear naked under the lace. It came to mid-thigh and had a side thigh opening, to allow free movement, and an incorporated bra.

It was beautiful and it fit like a glove, making her look very sexy. The trouble was, she wasn't used to being sexy and felt rather uncomfortable and despite sometimes wearing shorter skirts, kept pulling at the dress's hem.

The shoes were closed toe with a three inch heel and crossed straps, running under the shoe and around the ankle. The suede sole gave some grip but also allowed dancers to slide and glide when necessary and the reinforced heal was strong enough to allow dancers to turn on the heel.

Felicity wondered if she could find some with a normal sole, because these were a thing of beauty and deserved to be shown off, frequently.

A knock came at the door. "You nearly ready, Felicity?" Came Oliver's deep voice.

Felicity looked in the mirror one more time. "No."

"You need a hand?"

"No, I need a trench coat."

"Are you decent?"

"Not really."

The door opened anyway and after taking a deep breath, she turned to him, still trying to pull the hem of her dress lower. The expression in his eyes stilled her, he looked both hungry and predatory.

"Smoaking," he teased,

"Really?"

"You look gorgeous," he assured her. "Really and truly. I suddenly have the urge to lock you in here and never let you out."

Felicity felt sexy under his gaze, as though she could not only wear the dress, she could own it. At this moment, she wasn't Felicity Smoak, IT whiz, she was Felicity Smoak, hot, sexy woman.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she praised.

Oliver stepped closer, until only inches separated them,

"They're nearly ready for us, are you up to this?"

She drank his image in. He had gone for a black pants and waistcoat, with a charcoal shirt, the arms rolled up to just below the elbows. He positively smouldered, he was so sexy. The only thing sexier was his arrow costume and this ensemble gave that a run for its money. So what if she fell flat on her face and looked like an idiot? The sexiest man alive would be helping her up again.

He leaned down and kissed her, not the usual pecks that they shared through out the day, this one was long, lingering, and filled with pent up passion.

"I'm ready." She said breathlessly.

He placed her hand on his elbow and led her from the office.

"…to Verdant's first dance off!" Thea was saying over the sound system. "All the dancers were auditioned earlier and the best will be competing against each other in pairs, every half hour. At the end of the dance, your cheers will be recorded by out cheer-o-meter and the couple with the loudest cheer wins, until we are left with only two. Your enthusiasm will decide who wins and who loses, so get yelling!"

The crowd applauded, clearly enjoying the idea.

"Now, to warm us up, we have a couple who sadly can't compete, as one of them is related to me, and I couldn't have claims of favouritism and cheating, now could I?" The crowd yelled and cheered. "They're so good however, that I couldn't deprive you all so ladies and *cough* gentlemen, I give you Mr Oliver Queen and the divine, Ms Smoak, performing the Argentine Tango."

The lights in the club went down, except for two spotlights, focused on Felicity and Oliver, and a hush enveloped the audience. Felicity thought that she might throw up, until she saw Oliver looking at her, and as she walked towards him, she felt trapped beneath his gaze, unable to look away and worry about how many people were watching them.

The instructor they had used the last two days was world class and had instead on changing the routine they knew, creating something far more complicated but also more nuanced. They danced slowly, hip to hip, cheek to cheek, and Felicity closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. Then in a burst of passion, were stepping around each other in intricate and difficult steps, twisting, spinning, then he had her by the waist and was lifting her as they spun around.

Then they slowed again, longing dripping form every understated, restrained movement, before another burst of desire had them twisting and pawing, throwing and grabbing each other.

Felicity was only ever aware of Oliver, and he could have danced them off the platform for all the notice she was paying to their surroundings. Thankfully, he didn't, he led her with care and precision so even although all their carefully rehearsed choreography had deserted her, she didn't need to remember it, she had Oliver to guide her. She was dancing on instinct more than anything, reacting to him.

The final sequence involved him lifting her onto his shoulder, where she leaned back, legs gracefully bent (or akimbo in many practices) as he spun them, and although she was precariously perched, she knew he would never drop her. Then he let her down and she turned to face him, kneeling down as he took a step back, then pulling on her outstretched hands, he pulled her up and into his arms just as the music ended and the spotlights wet dark.

The crowd went wild but Felicity was aware of being held in Oliver's warm embrace to notice. She could feel his breath on her neck, the heave of his chest as he panted.

"That was better than sex," she said offhand, and given the volume around them, she felt more then heard him laugh.

"Then you've been doing it wrong," he told her.

Felicity pulled away for just long enough to look into his eyes, where she saw his desire still simmering.

"You want to get out of here?" she asked.

Oliver gulped and nodded. "Good idea."

He took her hand and led her towards the entrance to the basement.

"Felix! Hey, Felix!"

A strawberry blond man grabbed Felicity's arm and acting on instinct, Oliver almost decked him, until Felicity squealed, dropped his hand and threw her arms around the man who had called her Felix.

"You're here! You aren't supposed to come until tomorrow!"

"I got my paper finished and caught an earlier train." He was a little shorter than Oliver but well-built and handsome. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, and his hair was long and floppy, constantly over or being pushed back from his eyes. Basically, a typical college student.

Felicity stepped back and her hands cupped the other man's face. "You look so good!"

"You too, I caught your little dance out there."

Felicity blushed bright red and the man she was with turned to Oliver, offering his hand. "Oliver Queen, did they say?"

"They did." Oliver shook the offered hand. "You must be James Smoak."

"The one and only."

Oliver had been hoping that tonight would be _the_ night. He'd broken into her apartment earlier and left champagne and strawberries in the refrigerator, then he'd decorated the bedroom with dozens of candles and scattered rose petals over her bed, leaving one long stem red rose on her pillow.

Oh well, se la vie.

Felicity was now punching her brother in the arm for telling her how hot their dance just was.

"You're my little brother, you're not supposed to notice things like that!"

James was shying away from her blows (which seemed playful rather than painful) clearly enjoying taunting her.

"You can be my date to the next school ball, my room-mates would die of jealousy!"

"Until I tell them that you're so pathetic, you had to beg your older sister to be your date."

"You tell them that, I'll tell them about the clay vase incident."

She stopped punching him and her flushed face turned white. "You wouldn't dare! That wasn't even my fault, I was doing what Timmy Meers said I should!"

Oliver couldn't help himself, he stepped closer. "Clay vase?"

"Don't you dare!" Felicity poked a finger in her brother's face.

"I don't think, I introduced myself properly," Oliver said. "I'm Oliver Queen, billionaire philanthropist, and I'd be willing to pay a small fortune to hear that story."

James seemed to be considering it.

"Remember who pays your tuition fees!" Felicity countered.

"I can get you a full ride scholarship."

"I bought your car."

"I can get you a new car, anything you'd like."

Felicity elbowed Oliver in the ribs. "Fine, I can't compete with a billionaire, tell him." She took two steps away then turned back. "But remember, Mr Queen, if it's in digital format, I can find it, and I can broadcast it, and I can make sure it never dies."

She sauntered off towards the bar, Leaving Oliver and James staring after her.

* * *

AN: By the way, or FYI, my most recent novel is on sale and today (3rd Jan 2014) is the final day to get the discounted price on Amazon. It's called Her Saving Grace, by Catherine Winchester (links to my author pages are on my profile page). Romance fans might enjoy it.


	13. Chapter 13

_Recap_

"_I don't think, I introduced myself properly," Oliver said. "I'm Oliver Queen, billionaire philanthropist, and I'd be willing to pay a small fortune to hear that story."_

_James seemed to be considering it. _

"_Remember who pays your tuition fees!" Felicity countered. _

"_I can get you a full ride scholarship."_

"_I bought your car."_

"_I can get you a new car, anything you'd like." _

_Felicity elbowed Oliver in the ribs. "Fine, I can't compete with a billionaire, tell him." She took two steps away then turned back. "But remember, Mr Queen, if it's in digital format, I can find it, and I can broadcast it, and I can make sure it never dies." _

_She sauntered off towards the bar, Leaving Oliver and James staring after her._

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen**

Oliver turned to Felicity's brother.

"I'm sorry, man," James said. "I can't actually tell you, not even for all the tea in china."

"Good man." Oliver offered his hand and they shook again. "As a brother myself, I know that it's our jobs to torture our sisters, but we are contractually obligated to beat on anyone else who does it."

"You know, from what Felix told me, I was expecting either some overgrown party boy or a square suit, but you're neither."

"I like to think I'm a little more complex than that."

"Good. And after that dance, you better be dating my sister, or I'll be forced to protect her honour."

"We are dating, but I'm a little sorry that I won't get to see that." Oliver smiled. "Let's get a drink."

"So, since Felix only said you were the odd billionaire who kept asking her for the impossible, then that you two were friends, then that she was working for you, I'm assuming this is recent?"

"Very recent. Almost brand new in fact, but I think being friends first is a good thing, there's none of that awkward 'getting to know you' stage."

Felicity approached them with a tray of drinks, two bottles of water, a Fosters lager, a bottle of raspberry vodka and a bottle of red wine.

"Here," Oliver took the tray. "You didn't pay for these, did you?"

"I left my credit card and started a tab."

"I'll take care of it, tonight is on me. Let's head to the VIP section, it's quieter, we can watch the dancing competition from up there and it has table service."

They made their way to the upper level and found a discreet corner, Felicity sitting between the two men. She passed the drinks out, lager for James "An Australian friend for me into this," he said, holding the bottle up. "It's good stuff, but not many places have it."

Felicity then gave Oliver a bottle of water and took a large swig from her own bottle, then poured them both a glass of red wine.

"What's the vodka for?" Oliver asked.

"Later."

"I thought you drank Dutch courage _before_ doing what scares you."

Felicity shrugged. "Maybe I'm trying to get you drunk."

"Maybe you don't need to."

"Whoa! That is too much information, people. My delicate sensibilities can't handle the idea of my sister having sex." James stuck his fingers in his ears and began saying "La, la, la, la, la…"

Felicity playfully swatted his arm. "Oliver's family has invited us for Christmas, if you're up for it."

"Is it an activity that needs working up to?" James teased.

"No," Oliver laughed. "Just dinner tomorrow night, then you can stay over and share Christmas day with us. We don't do an awful lot, but the food is good enough to keep you on a diet for the next six months."

James looked to his sister. "Felix, you broke our 'only-us' Christmas promise? Why?"

"Because I finally met someone who made me want to overlook other years, and see what it's like to enjoy a Christmas."

James looked surprised. "So this is serious then?"

"Well, too early to say that," Felicity hedges her bets. "But I haven't been this happy in a long time."

"Or me," Oliver reached out to take her hand.

"Hey, if it means I get to live 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' for two days, you can count me in," James grinned. "I may even start a start or twitter account, I'll call it 'Christmas with the Queens' and tweet every tedious detail, and every interesting fight."

Oliver could tell he was kidding.

"Well, in that case, I must ask you to since a confidentiality agreement, and every breech will cost $5,000."

James looked dumb struck.

"He's kidding," Felicity said. "If you do tweet and blog that stuff, _I'll_ kill you."

They laughed and Felicity thought that this might be a good time to pour the vodka shots.

Conversation moved onto James' studies and college life, then their plans for while James was in Starling City. When it was time for them to leave, Oliver offered them a life home. He had been hoping to spend the night with Felicity but she was clearly enjoying being with her brother and besides, just as she felt unhappy at the thought of having sex with him under his mother's roof, he would feel odd having sex while her brother sleeping in the next room.

He was beginning to think that fate was trying to tell them something, but he pushed such thoughts aside. He didn't believe in fate.

At Felicity's apartment, he stayed in the car while his driver and James got the bags from the trunk. When Felicity moved to get out as well, Oliver grabbed her hand, wanting to steal a moment with her.

"Thank you for tonight," Felicity said. "I had hoped that… well… You don't mind waiting a little longer, do you?"

Oliver shook his head. "I'll wait forever, if I have to."

He had clearly said the right thing, as it earned him a passionate, lingering kiss.

"Good night, Oliver."

"Sleep tight."

* * *

Oliver reached the Arrow cave just before noon, to see Roy and Diggle sparing. Given the tension between Oliver and Roy, he had intentionally stayed away when Roy was there, hoping that things would be easier without him around.

When they stopped for a water break, he made his presence known.

"Hey."

"Hi." Roy seemed quite reasonable this morning and headed for his gym bag, on the opposite side of the mats.

"How was last night?" Diggle asked, toweling the sweat off his brow.

"Last night went well," Oliver said but clearly couldn't hide his disappointment.

"Come on, spill?"

"The dance was great but, well, Felicity's brother turned up, which kind of put a dampener on my plans for the rest of the evening."

"Been there." Diggle said with an understanding smile.

"Any advice?"

"Sometimes the anticipation is the best part. Just try to enjoy it."

"Thanks." That was actually pretty good advice. "So, how's Roy doing?"

"His technique is sloppy."

"Is that an issue given his strength?"

"The issue is the damage he can do unintentionally, he nearly dislocated my shoulder earlier, and that was helping me up off the mat."

"The strength is going to be a problem, isn't it?"

"Not once he learns control, and I've had a few ideas in that area. I will say this for the kid, he's willing to learn."

Oliver raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"Don't ask me why, but he's a far better student that I anticipated."

"Mind if I watch for a while?" Oliver asked.

"Not at all, but we're done with sparring for today. Next up is the ring toss."

Diggle walked off, leaving Oliver staring after him. "Ring toss?"

His question was answered a few moments later when Diggle appeared with a traffic cone and six rubber rings. Just like at a fair, Roy had to try and get the rings over the top of the cone.

The first ring he threw with such force that it bounced off the far wall, the next didn't do much better, the one after that fell short. Slowly he was getting closer and closer to the cone each time.

Oliver smiled, thinking it was actually a pretty ingenious way of teaching Roy to apply the correct amount to force to the action.

It took twenty five attempts before Roy finally got a ring onto the cone, then Diggle moved the hoop further away. This was repeated another two times and each time Roy succeeded, Diggle moved the cone closer or further away.

"Good job." Diggle praised.

"Thanks. What's next?" Roy asked.

"Bike tyres."

Diggle had a stack of bicycle tyres at the side of the room, which were far larger but also heavier than the rubber rings, so Roy would have to adjust the strength needed.

"I also have hula hoops and motorcycle tyres," Diggle explained to Oliver as they watched. "In a few days, when he has this perfected, I'm going to set up an assault course that he has to do while carrying an egg, and without breaking the egg."

"Is that really necessary?"

"I don't want him breaking our hands when he's helping us up an elevator shaft, or a victim's hand. I told him to think of this like physiotherapy after an accident, only rather than a knee replacement, he got a bionic everything, and has to re-learn even the things he took for granted."

Oliver watched a little longer and noticed that Roy almost glowed when Diggle praised him, while Diggle had a patient and encouraging attitude to Roy.

All in all, it seemed most like a parental dynamic. Given the lack of good role models in Roy's life, this could only be a good thing and Oliver couldn't have found a better man than Diggle for the job if he had tried.

Happy that Roy was in capable hands, he headed to the office. It was Christmas Eve so he only planned to stay for an hour or so, but with Isabel in China, he needed to at least show his face.

* * *

"So, the billionaire, Oliver Queen?" James asked with a cynical attitude, as he accepted he mug to tea Felicity handed him.

"What about him?"

"Well I assume he's the one responsible for that expensive looking champagne in your refrigerator, not to mention all those shredded roses you were clearing up last night."

"They were rose petals, and yes, if you must know."

"You mean to tell me that the gossip sites are right and that you, my serious, sober, straight laced sister, are dating a man like that?"

"Yes. Money doesn't automatically equal asshole, you know."

"I looked into him when you told me you were working for him, and he sure sounds like your typical spoiled brat."

"Before the island, maybe, but he's a different man since he's been home."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes!" They had gotten along so well last night, that her brothers hostility this morning was a little disconcerting.

"Money doesn't equal happiness, Felix."

"I know that better than most. Trust me when I say, his wealth is not a factor in how I feel about him."

Their mother had grown up poor and as such, valued financial stability above all else, hence she had stayed with two not very nice men, while for Felicity and James, their happiest childhood memories all stemmed from the two years when their mother was single, even though money was tight.

"Look, Oliver's very affable and charming, I'll give you that, but can you look me in the eye and tell me that he always treats you well?"

"James…"

"You can't, can you?"

"No, I can't. We fight all the time- well, fairly regularly anyway. He yells and I yell back but you know what, James?" Felicity reached over the kitchen table and took his hand. "That's what normal people do. Normal people don't have to worry about being hit if they say the wrong thing or answer back. Normal people argue and no matter how heated our fights become, I have never felt threatened by Oliver. Ever. And in all fairness, I'm the one who does most of the yelling."

"What about his family?"

"I don't know them very well. His mom seems friendly enough. His sister can be a bit of a brat, I suppose, but I think she's grown up a lot recently; she had to, what with the undertaking and her mom's trial."

"Do you even hear yourself? You're dating the son of the woman who killed five hundred and three people."

'_No, I'm dating the man who risked his life to stop it,'_ she thought.

"I'm not going to blame him for his family's sins, James, just like I wouldn't want anyone to judge you or me based on our parents."

James sighed. "I just worry about you."

"I know," she smiled. "I worry about you too, but while I am willing to concede that this relationship might prove to be a mistake, I'm not following mom's footsteps, I promise."

"All right, I'll stop bugging you but just know that if he hurts you, I'll hurt him."

As unlikely as that was, the sentiment was sweet. "Thank you, but I don't need a white night."

"Well you've got one."

'_Actually, including Oliver and Diggle, I now have three,'_ she thought.

"Enough about me, what about your love life? Are you still seeing that psychologist major?" Felicity asked.

"No, we split a few weeks ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Before they could continue their discussion, Felicity's attention was caught by the news and she turned the volume up.

"_Five members of the Freemont dynasty, who have been charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, kidnapping and murder, will be spending Christmas behind bars, as Judge Simmons refused their bail request this morning. Along with the family, three doctors and fifteen other people employed by the Freemont's, have been charged with offences relating to the Turtledove scandal. Authorities are still searching the grounds of the retreat and so far, six bodies have been recovered. The Freemont's grandson has been taken into custody by child services and for the time being, is being cared for at Central City Paediatrics Hospital. An aunt, who has not been charged in connection with the scandal, is petitioning the courts for custody of the boy but a ruling on that matter isn't expected until the New Year, at the earliest."_

Felicity felt awful since that poor little boy could be spending Christmas among strangers.

She wouldn't change anything about what they had done, after all, there were a lot of kids out there who, thanks to the Freemonts, would never be seeing their parents again, let alone spending Christmas with them.

Still, as awful as what his parents and grandparents had done was, the boy didn't deserve to be punished.

"Didn't I hear that you and Oliver were there?" James asked, interrupting her revere.

"Yeah, Oliver had a meeting there that morning. Thank god the police raided it before any contracts were drawn up or anything. The Queens have had enough bad…" her words trailed off as the next story caught her attention.

"_Nicknamed 'the blur' speculation has been rife as to what this phenomenon is and indeed, whether it was even real but footage emerged today, of the blur stopping a robbery in progress, and many in the city are speculating that Central City may have its own super-powered vigilante."_

The screen cut away from a reporter who was standing outside Central City Saving's and Loan, to black and white CCTV footage, which showed a robbery in progress, then a blur of something going back and forth across the screen, knocking the thieves out, then tying them up.

Felicity was reminded of Barry's story, of a blur killing his mother. Had it back? If so, why did it kill Barry's mom, but stop these thieves?

"Felicity?"

"Sorry?" She realised that James had been talking but she hadn't heard.

"I said, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"A friend of mine from Central City told me a story about a blur once, he said it killed his mother."

"So what, you think there's some evil, blurry man killing people?" Clearly James thought the idea ridiculous.

"I don't know, but I do think there are some things out there that defy rational explanation."

"Come on, Felix, don't tell me you believe this super-human gossip?"

"That 'super-human gossip', as you call it, is about a theft from Queen Consolidated, and I have actually seen video proof of one man carrying a two ton centrifuge out of our applied sciences division. That same man also put a friend of mine in the hospital, Detective Lance." She still couldn't get used to calling him Officer.

"I thought you were a scientist?"

"Computer science but you're right, I am logical but when you see something with your own eyes, it's kind of hard to ignore. Just because we don't know how yet, doesn't mean it isn't real."

James looked sceptical.

"I'm not asking you to believe it," Felicity added. "Just keep an open mind."

James shrugged. He clearly thought she was delusional but wasn't going to argue with her over it.

"Come on," she said. "We'd better pack for our stay at the Queen Mansion. You're still happy to go, right?"

"Sure."

Felicity knew that even if he wasn't happy, he would still go so that he could get to know Oliver better.

* * *

Oliver and his mother came outside to greet them as they arrived and when Oliver kissed Felicity, he lingered for longer than was strictly polite. As he stepped back, Felicity felt trapped by his gaze and she saw her own frustration reflected in his eyes.

She began to reconsider sleeping with him in his home, hell, right now she was pretty sure she'd jump him in public, given even the slightest provocation.

Somehow he managed to look away and introduced James to his mother, then he showed the siblings to their rooms. Felicity's room was next to his, while James' room was opposite his sister, and Felicity wondered if Oliver was hoping for a midnight rendezvous too.

She was unpacking when Oliver slipped into her room. He wasted no time taking her into his arms and claiming the kiss he had really wanted to give her outside.

Felicity was feeling rather giddy by the time the kiss ended and as they stood, foreheads touching, it took her longer than she was proud of, to remember that she had something she needed to discuss with him.

"Did you see the news today?" she asked.

"No, why?"

"Have you heard those rumours about a blur in Central City?"

He nodded. "They sound like a bad acid trip."

"Except they finally have camera footage of this blur. It looks a lot like what Barry was describing, the thing that killed his mom."

"Have you spoken to him?"

Felicity shook her head. "How do you call someone and say _'Hey, is that thing on the news the thing that killed your mother'_?"

"Do you want me to call him?"

She hesitated for a moment, clearly tempted. "No, I will, I just don't want to ruin his Christmas."

Oliver nodded; given that this blur seemed to be helping people, it could probably wait for a few days, still- "He's probably already noticed the similarities, he might like hearing from a friend."

'_Well yeah, but then I have to tell him that I'm off the market now, and I kind of don't want to add to his misery,'_ she thought. _'Not that not dating me will shatter him or anything, but, well…' _

"It's a good think you aren't telepathic," she said, which made him grin. "What?"

"I hate to break it to you, but you said that out loud."

Felicity blushed. "Your applied science division needs to work on some kind of brain/mouth filter-chip."

Oliver laughed and tightened his hold on her. She loved hearing him laugh as it was such a rare thing.

"Never," he told her, before stealing a kiss. "But I still think you should call him, he could probably use a friendly ear."

Felicity nodded. "Since when do you care about Barry?"

"He's not so bad," Oliver shrugged. "And I may have over reacted a little."

"Just a little?"

"I said 'may have'."

Felicity shook her head at his stubbornness, but at least this time he was teasing. Well, mostly teasing. Probably.

"Okay, I'll call him."

"Then I'll go check on your brother. I get the feeling he'll want to grill me without you around anyway."

Felicity thought that showed remarkable sensitivity on his part, not only predicting her brother's wants, but knowing that she would feel uncomfortable talking to Barry with him around.

"Just make your way to the living room when you're done, someone will be there, even if I'm not."

"I will, and please try not to kill my brother, okay? I'm kind of attached to him," She stole another kiss and tried to step out of his embrace, but he refused to release her.

"Just answer me one thing?"

"What?" she could tell by his smile that he was about to try and embarrass her.

"Did you bring the red French nickers?"

He succeeded as her cheeks warmed. "Yes."

Desire flared in his eyes but she stepped away before anything could come of it.

"Now get out of here." They didn't have time to act on it now, someone would come looking for them very soon, she was sure, but with any more temptation she might lost the ability to say no.

He left, although he gave her a rather hangdog look, and she picked her phone up and dialled Barry.

"_Felicity?"_ He answered, sounding excited.

"Hi."

"_I was going to call you but I thought I'd wait until after Christmas. I know you don't celebrate but I heard about the hood's work at that retreat and figured you needed some down time. How are you?" _

"I'm good, thanks." His happy attitude had thrown her somewhat. "How are you?"

"_Me. I'm fantastic!"_

"Well… that's great. Any particular reason?"

"_Can you keep a secret?"_ he asked.

"Barry!" It was a rather silly question.

"_Right, of course. Well can you track my phone?" _

"What?"

"_On your computer, can you track my phone?" _

"I guess, if you have your GPS turned on."

"_Do it. I mean, please do it."_

"Okay, give me a minute." She got her tablet out and hooked it into the wi-fi.

"_Where are you?"_ Barry asked. _"At the club?"_

"No, I'm at the queen mansion, I was invited for dinner." Her tablet dinged. "Okay, you're in Central City, at 36th and Lexington."

Suddenly the blip on her map disappeared and she felt a small gust of wind.

"You sure?"

Felicity screamed as the voice came from behind her and she turned to see who it was.

"Oh my God! Barry!"

He still held the phone to his ear and had a very satisfied smile on his face, although it faded a little when he realised he'd genuinely frightened her.

The door to her room burst open and Oliver stood there, looking rather fearsome, although it soon changed to confusion when he realised that Felicity wasn't in danger.

"Barry?" he asked.

"Oliver, hey!" He still sounded exceptionally happy.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked, looking to Felicity for an explanation.

"That's what I'd like to know," she answered, then realisation hit and she turned back to Barry. "Oh wow, you're the blur, aren't you?"

Realisation dawned in Oliver's eyes too and confusion turned to worry. "_You're_ Central City's new vigilante?"

"I am," Barry answered with pride.

"What? Why? How?" Felicity was still confused by this turn of events.

"Not really sure to be honest," Barry admitted. "There was an accident when they turned the particle accelerator-"

He stopped talking when another man arrived behind Oliver, then Thea joined them. Both newcomers looked curious.

"Are you okay?" James asked Felicity.

"Yeah, Barry just played a practical joke, that's all. Barry, this is my brother, James and Oliver's sister, Thea; this is Barry, my friend."

"What's your friend doing in our house?" Thea asked, in the nicest possible way, but there _was_ a stranger in her home.

"He's my friend too," Oliver covered. "Barry doesn't have any family locally, so I invited him, but I didn't realise he had arrived." He gave Barry a steely glare.

"Yeah, sorry about that, uh, there was no one around, so I let myself in and sort of went wandering, looking for someone." Realising that he seemed to be blaming them for his unexpected appearance, he frantically back-peddled. "But it's my own fault, I was late, I'm always late… I'm sorry I spooked you, Felicity."

Thea didn't quite seem to buy the story but then again, it could have been Barry's rambling attitude that had her looking nonplussed.

"That's okay," Felicity answered, with an overly large, fake smile. It wasn't that she was upset with Barry for making her jump, but so much had changed in the last sixty seconds that she was too uneasy to give a genuine smile.

"Come on, Barry, I'll show you to your room," Oliver invited, eager to break the group up.

"Where's your stuff?" Thea asked as he followed Oliver out.

"Oh, I uh, left it at the train station, in a locker."

"Why?"

"I, uh, I couldn't get a cab, so I walked."

"You walked twenty miles from the city?" Thea rightly sounded sceptical.

Barry gave her a wide smile and shrugged. "I like to walk."

"Then let's go pick your bags up," Oliver said pointedly, and Barry followed him down the hall.

James was just watching the scene with avid curiosity and when Barry was out of earshot, he leaned closer to Felicity and said "And I though you rambled a lot."

Felicity smiled, pleased that he wasn't making an issue out of things.

Thea left with an eye roll and Felicity's phone vibrated, signalling a text from Oliver which asked her to join them.

"Damn it, I forgot to do something at the office, I was supposed to go in this morning but then you came early and I totally forgot. I'm going to see if I can catch a ride with Oliver."

"I can drive you," James offered but Felicity was already running to catch them up.

"They're already going into the city," she called over her shoulder. "You stay here and relax."


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** A lot of people point out typos. Yes, I know there are typos. Lots, hundreds probably. I'm dyslexic and while I have done a lot to overcome it, I cannot avoid this. I used to use beta's but when I got the work back, I often found more mistakes, not less (and believe me, when a dyslexic is finding mistakes, it's not good) and that led to the awkward scenario of asking for another beta, without hurting the feelings of the first one. And how do you fire someone who tried to help you for free. I've been publishing on the internet for at least 15 years now and in all that time, I have honestly only found one beta that I trust and sadly, I haven't written in her fandoms for well over 5 years now.

My book manuscripts are professionally proofed and edited but those services are expensive and frankly, I write fanfiction for fun. While my books provide me with a living, I'm not JK Rowling, if I was, I would happily pay to have these storied professionally edited but in the meantime, I prof them as best I can in the time restraints I have.

If you want to point specific typos out to me, I will of course correct them, as I correct any that I spot when re-reading, but just telling me that there are mistakes and typos, is like telling me there's a traffic jam but not telling me where.

**AN2:** Sorry for the delay in publishing this. I can't really afford to spend much more time on it So I wanted to make sure the conclusion was good. Not everything is resolved, as I intentionally wrote this in episodic format, knowing that I would address some plot threads (like the new super-heroes) but not necessarily resolve them in this story. I hope no one minds too much and the main plot points of this story are answered. And if someone wants to pick up where I left off, they are very welcome to!

So without further ado, I give you the final instalment of Three, Two, One.

**Chapter Fourteen**

Diggle was already waiting in the Arrow cave when Felicity and Oliver arrived.

"Sorry to call you away from Lyla," Oliver said. "Is she okay?"

"Long as I'm back by dinner time," he said, as Felicity nodded her greeting and made her way to her computers.

"Are you still sure you don't want to come for Christmas dinner tomorrow?"

"Thanks, but after lunch with Lyla, I'm spending the evening with Carly and A.J. while Lyla goes to her folks. What's so important anyway?"

"Barry," Oliver said darkly.

"Did he reveal your secret?" Diggle asked.

"No, it seems he had a secret of his own now. You've heard about the blur in Central City, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's Barry."

"Wait, you're telling me that little Barry Allen, has been flying around Central City, stopping criminals and moving so fast, that the eye can't see him?" Diggle almost sounded amused at the idea.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

His merriment fled. "How?"

"That's what we're here to find out," Oliver explained. "He decided to play a practical joke on Felicity and got seen at my house, so I had to make an excuse and invite him to stay; he's home packing right now but he should be back any sec-"

Barry appeared as if from nowhere, a triumphant grin on his face.

"-ond."

"Whoa!" Diggle took a step back. "That's a neat trick."

"Thanks." Barry put his bag down, grinning.

Realising that it seemed rather like an interrogation with he and Diggle standing and seemingly staring Barry down, Oliver pulled a seat over and sat down, and the other two followed his lead.

"So, want to tell us what happened?" Oliver asked, sounding as calm as he could.

"Well like I was saying, there was an accident at Star Labs. Some kind of shock wave radiated out then there was a lightning strike that hit my building and transferred to me. The next thing I knew, I woke up in hospital a week ago, and had the ability to run really fast."

"How did you discover what you could do?" Dig asked.

"Well I was released three days later and was on my way into work, they'd given me time off to recover, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't in any trouble from my trip to Starling City, before the accident. The bus was late again and I was really agitated about being late, then we got caught behind a traffic accident and I decided it'd be quicker to run, so I got off the bus and the next thing I knew, it was like the world slowed down. It took me a while to figure out that it was me who had speeded up, not time slowing down."

"And you have no idea what caused this?" Diggle asked.

"They cleaned up my office while I was in hospital but I checked the photo's they took of the scene, the trouble was, almost everything in my lab was broken, chemicals and glass everywhere and I have no idea which chemicals or mixture caused this, or maybe the shockwave affected the lightening or something. I have to assume that the particle accelerator had something to do with this too, it's too much of a coincidence otherwise."

"I've hacked the hospital records," Felicity said and all three men came to stand behind her chair. Oliver rested his hand on her shoulder in an unconscious gesture, but Barry noticed.

"Anything unusual?" Oliver asked.

"Not sure," Felicity admitted. "They did a CT scan of his brain and while I don't know what a normal brain is supposed to look like, the doctor's notes say there's unusual activity in the primary motor and premotor cortex, especially for someone in a coma. Oh, there's a second scan done a few days later, which… shows even more activity in those areas."

"Looks like his brain was re-wiring itself," Diggle guessed.

"That's a really sloppy way to phrase it but essentially, yeah," Felicity agreed. "They didn't do a third scan once he'd woken up, just tested his mental function and reflexes the old fashioned way, but I'd love to get a new scan, see if the activity died out, stayed the same or increased again."

"Well, that's all very interesting, but that doesn't solve the problem of what we do with him," Oliver said.

"Do with me?" Barry looked a little worried at the wording.

"I can't just let you go around fighting crime," Oliver explained, perhaps not in his most conciliatory tone. "You're a risk to everyone around you and to yourself."

"I'm not a risk!"

"You broke someone's wrist while you were tying them up," Felicity said, reading an article on her screen.

"Normal people probably aren't built to move at the sort of speed you now seem able to," Oliver added. "You could really hurt someone."

"Oh, this coming from the man who kills people!" Barry's indignation died away a little at Oliver's death glare.

"Only as a last resort."

"Seems like this hero thing is catching," Diggle noted.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt anyone!" Barry tried to defend himself. "I want to help people, like you all do."

"And I don't deny that's your intention," Oliver agreed, "but you're an amateur."

"Then teach me how to do it right."

Oliver rolled his eyes and turned away. "I'm not running a hero academy here!"

"Could have fooled me," Felicity said under her breath, but everyone still heard, only Barry seemed confused by it.

Silence descended over the group and Felicity turned her chair around to face the others.

"This could also be damaging you," Feliciyt pointed out. "You aren't built to move at those speeds and whatever this is, it could be doing unseen damage to your body or brain. We need to check you out before you keep doing this, because there's no point in stopping bad guys if you get yourself killed too."

Barry didn't look happy at her argument but finally nodded his.

"And I really hate to bring this up but…" she pressed he rlips together as she looked at Barry. "Well, your new power sounds a lot like how you described your mom's death."

Barry visibly sagged at that. "I know," he admitted. "I can't explain it and I don't understand it, but maybe now I can find who did it."

"How do you mean?" Diggle asked.

"Well I don't know yet but last time, the problem was that I couldn't see him and he was too fast for my dad to fight him. Now, I'm a much better match and if I can find him, I stand a far better chance of stopping him."

Oliver turned to face the group again. As much as the two new super-powered humans worried him, he did feel for Barry. An injustice like that could eat away at your soul.

"Let's just try and have a nice Christmas," he said. "After that, we'll see about running some tests on you, both to find out how this happened, and what your limitations are. We can see where we go from there."

"We really need to see what kinds of cameras can capture his image too," Felicity added. "You were lucky with the CCTV footage but now that people know you're real, they're going to want to get a picture of you, and some high speed cameras can snap 125 frames per second, maybe more."

Barry nodded. "I hadn't thought of that. I might have to wear a mask."

"I don't know how you were finding these criminals either, but we have to make sure it's safe and that nothing you're using can be traced back to you."

"I used an old police radio that I got off ebay."

"I'll hack in and remove all traces of that sale," Felicity offered, turning her chair back to her computers. "What's your username?"

"CSI dash 99."

She began typing.

"So how does it feel to be the blur?" Diggle asked Barry.

"I don't really know yet, it's all very new," Barry admitted. "But I hate that name."

"How about The Lightening," Diggle suggested, to which Barry turned his nose up. "Or Speedy."

"That reminds me of that cartoon mouse, Speedy Gonzales."

"How about Swift, or Rapid, or Blaze?" Diggle added.

"I don't know."

"We can check a thesaurus later," Oliver said. "Right now we all have cover stories to keep intact."

"I'm nearly done," Felicity told them.

"Then if no one minds, I'll head home. Lyla has a bottle of eggnog ready to open."

"I'll walk you out," Oliver said.

"You okay with this?" Diggle asked once they were out of ear shot.

"I wouldn't say 'okay' but there's not a lot I can do about it."

"He's basically a good kid, they both are."

"I know." Oliver gave a weary sigh. "I got into this to help people, not to teach. I don't want to teach Barry and Roy how to be a vigilante."

"Regardless, you've got the job and contrary to what you might think, you can do this."

Oliver gave him a disbelieving look. "I am the world's worst role model, Dig."

Diggle smiled. "I know it feels like that sometimes but it's not true."

Oliver wished he could believe him.

"Besides, maybe they can learn from your mistakes."

"If there's one thing I've learned about mistakes, it's that you only ever learn from your own."

* * *

"So, you and Oliver?" Barry asked Felicity once they were alone.

Felicity turned to him, shocked. "What about us?"

"I'm not blind, Felicity."

Felicity mentally reviewed their behaviour since Barry had arrived in her room, and could see nothing that might give away their couple status. She had asked Oliver not to do or say anything, wanting to talk to Barry herself and tell him. Now he knew though, she couldn't deny it.

"It's still very new."

Barry gave her a resigned smile. "I hope you'll be very happy together."

Felicity felt awful but there was nothing she could do to change things. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for."

She gave him a weak smile and turned back to her screens. He was right, but she still didn't like the slightly dejected expression he wore.

Oliver joined them a few moments later and they stood in uncomfortable silence until she finally declared , "There, all done."

"Then let's get back to the house and try to have a good time," Oliver suggested.

"Thank you for inviting me," Barry said. "I know you were forced into it once your family saw me but… well, thanks."

"It's not a problem," Oliver assured him, his attitude softening towards the kid as he remembered that Barry didn't have any family to celebrate with. All things considered, Barry probably stood a better chance of being a good hero than Roy, since Barry didn't seem to have Roy's anger issues, but Oliver knew well that appearances could be deceptive.

* * *

When they got back to the mansion, Moira and Thea were gathered in the living room with their guests, sharing mulled wine as Christmas music played on the stereo. Felicity had been told there would be extra people at the Christmas Eve dinner, but she hadn't expected Laurel and her father, or Walter to be there. There were a half a dozen other people there too, two of whom looked about Thea's age and were probably her friends, and the rest seemed to be friends of Moira.

Roy was also there, sitting next to Thea and as Oliver walked in, Roy took Thea's hand and gave him a defiant glare.

Oliver wanted to rip the kids head off for not doing as he'd been told but Felicity grabbed his hand to get his attention and shook her head slightly.

Everyone was dressed in casual clothes and there were no servants milling around serving drinks, just a table set up with a fancy urn that dispensed warm mulled wine, and a selection of other drinks people could help themselves to.

Oliver went to pour mulled wine for himself, Felicity and Barry, and Felicity introduced Barry to his mother, then she joined Oliver.

"He's testing you." Felicity said softly. "Don't make a scene."

"That's kind of hard when he's endangering my sister."

"Well right now, he's only training so she's not in danger and besides, I think that he has real feelings for Thea."

"Then he shouldn't want to put her in danger."

"You're dating me," she reminded him.

"But you know the risks, Thea doesn't."

"You're right but he's trying to get a reaction from you. Don't rise to it."

"Maybe I'll have Diggle talk to him."

"You think he'll listen to Dig?"

"Roy seems to look up to him actually, so he probably stands the best chance of getting through to him."

"Then that's what we'll do but for tonight, try to be nice."

Oliver didn't answer.

"Just try," Felicity said again. "Please."

Oliver nodded his agreement and handed her a glass of mulled wine, which she accepted, then she went to speak to Roy and Thea.

Oliver saw Roy swallow down some nerves as she approached and he realised that the other man probably hadn't thought this through; he had come tonight on impulse, to upset Oliver but he hadn't stopped to think that the woman he had kidnapped would be here also, and that _she_ might be inclined to 'out' him to his girlfriend.

Oliver knew that Felicity wouldn't do that but Roy still didn't know her very well.

Thankfully, Thea seemed to have given up her ridiculous notion that Walter had had an affair with Felicity, and greeted her with a warm smile.

"It's a nice place you've got here," Felicity's brother, James said as he approached. "Scottish Baronial, if I'm not mistaken, early 1900s?"

Oliver turned away from Roy and Felicity and tried to pay them no further mind.

"I think so but my mother probably knows more about the house than I do. Felicity said you're studying architecture, right?"

"That's right," he smiled. "I'd love to have a proper look around the gardens too, if that's all right."

"Help yourself, but that seems a little outside the remit of an architect."

"Buildings are my passion, but landscapes are my hobby."

"They go very nicely together."

"So did your family build this place?"

"No, we're _nouveau riche_, I'm afraid. My grandfather was a businessman, he started Queen's, then Queen and Son, but it was my father who turned those enterprises into Queen Consolidated. He bought this house soon after he married my mother, just before I was born."

"And you're following in his footsteps."

"Only in some ways," Oliver hedged. He would not put profit above people but he still hoped to run a successful enterprise. "You're hoping to become an architect?"

"That's the plan."

"I have a few contacts that I could put you in touch with who might be able to help your career."

"Thanks but I prefer to let my talent speak for itself, assuming I have any, that is."

Oliver smiled at the self-deprecation.

"That's a nice thought but everyone, even talented people, need a hand up sometimes."

"Look," James dropped the pretence of small talk. "Felix is a pretty special person, she practically raised me and while I don't want to insult you, your track record with women isn't exactly great."

"Your point being?" Oliver bristled.

"Don't hurt her. She's more than just a name in a little black book, and she deserves someone who can see how amazing she is."

Some of Oliver's ire faded, how could he be mad at someone who had Felicity's best interests at heart. He let his façade fade a little so his real feelings could show through.

"Believe me, I know exactly how special she is."

James gave him a long look, as if judging his truthfulness, then nodded. "Good."

"Let me introduce you to my Mom, I'm pretty sure we still have the original plans of the house somewhere, and she probably knows where."

"Thanks, I'd like that."

* * *

"Miss Smoak," Lance said, joining Felicity as she refilled her wine glass.

"Officer Lance," she smiled at the formality.

"How about we go with Quentin and Felicity for this evening?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"I'd like that," she smiled. "Can I top you up?" One of his arms was still in a sling so it would be difficult for him to refill his glass.

"Please."

"How are you?" she asked, some of her pleasure in seeing him up and well fading as she recalled the reason for his sling.

"Coping," he answered.

"I'm sorry about your partner."

Lance nodded. "Thank you for coming to the funeral."

"It was the least I could do." Felicity hadn't thought he'd noticed her, there had been so many people present.

"Laurel dragged me here as her plus one," he explained his presence there. "Said I needed to get back in the game, or something. She's been saying a lot of things like that recently."

"She worries about you." Felicity offered.

"Well, considering how I was after Sara…" he swallowed. "Well, I can't really blame her."

Felicity smiled but she was unsure how to reply to that.

"So, do I gather that you and Queen are an item now?" He had evidently decided that a change in subject was needed.

"We are. It's very new."

"Does he know about our mutual friend?"

"No, and I'd rather he didn't." Given that she now worked for and dated Oliver, she had expected Lance to wonder about the arrow and Oliver. She had decided to tell people that it was her secret, much like Laurel had hidden her dealings with the arrow from Tommy.

"You don't think he'd like it?" Lance asked, watching her closely.

"Considering that the arrow went after one percenters, not to mention that he killed Malcolm Merlin, his Dad's best friend, I'd say he wouldn't take to kindly to the news that I sometimes help him."

Lance nodded, seemingly accepting her answer. "Well, next time you do talk to him, tell him thanks from me, for taking out Gold. I don't know how he did it, but the guy has some balls, I'll give him that."

Felicity would call it a reckless death wish, combined with a hero complex, rather than 'balls' but she wasn't about to argue the point and as much as she hated the danger he put himself in, Starling City needed him; it was just her bad luck that she had to go and fall for a guy who took responsibility for others failings onto his own shoulders.

"I will," she assured Lance.

"Do you know if he has family to spend the holidays with?"

Over his shoulder, Felicity could see Oliver chatting to his mother.

"I hope so," she said with sincerity. "I think he deserves to be loved."

"I think you're right," he agreed, then suddenly smiled. "If you'd told me last Christmas that I'd feel this way, I'd have thought you were crazy."

"Insanity is a perfectly logical reaction to an insane world."

"Ain't that the truth." Lance raised his glass and they toasted her words.

* * *

"Laurel," Oliver said, offering her a warm smile. He had forgotten that she had been invited but he supposed that she had to find out about him and Felicity sometime, and now was as good a time as any.

"Hey." She smiled. "Thank you for inviting me tonight."

Although he didn't contradict her, his mother had actually invited her, saying she wanted to heal the rift caused when Laurel had tried to convict her of mass murder. Oliver didn't quite believe that and wondered if she had other motives, but he didn't argue. Honestly, a Christmas without Laurel would have been odd, so he was glad that she had come.

"Your father looks good."

"Yeah, he's healing well. It's the scars you can't see that I worry about."

"Your father's strong, Laurel, he's survived worse than this and he'll be fine."

"You're right, I know you're right, I just can't help worrying."

Oliver could relate. "And how about you?" Her scars also weren't visible but she had endured more than her share of trauma in the past year.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I think I'm okay, mostly."

"I'm glad."

She smiled. "So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room, or just pretend it's a Christmas decoration?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You and your assistant, Felicity, wasn't it?"

Oliver nodded. "How'd you know?"

"The little talk you two had just after you got here, and the look you gave her; I remember that look."

"I'm sorry, I didn't plan-"

"No," she cut him off. "It might be weird for me, but I'll get used to it. You deserve to be happy, Oliver."

"Thank you. So do you."

"Thanks." A shy smile played at her lips.

"What aren't you telling me?" he asked, his tone teasing. "Do you have someone?"

Her smile widened. "Maybe. It's very early days but I'm hopeful it's going somewhere."

"Are you going to tell me who he lucky guy is?"

"No, not yet anyway."

"Well whoever he is, I hope he deserves you."

"Excuse me, if I could have your attention," Moira called out, and they turned to her. "Dinner will be served in a few minutes so if you could make your way into the dining room. There's no seating plan this evening, so just find someone you love, or at least, like, to sit beside."

Oliver and Laurel shared an uncomfortable look for a moment.

"I'd better go find my Dad."

Oliver nodded, glad that she hadn't made that any more uncomfortable than it already was.

* * *

Dinner was an informal affair and conversation flowed as freely as the wine and water did. It was a three course meal, with a cold starter, steak pie for the main course and a chocolate and cranberry ice cream for dessert. To keep things as easy as possible for the servants, they helped themselves to most of the food, from serving platters set out in the middle of the table

Felicity had Oliver on her left and Thea on her right, eschewing the normal boy-girl-boy-girl dinner party etiquette.

"So, how does it feel to date a billionaire?" Thea asked.

Felicity was a little taken aback at the implication but not entirely surprised.

"Not as much fun as Hello magazine makes it sound," she deadpanned. "I don't have a single gift of jewellery, a fast car, a designer wardrobe or a copy of Oliver's credit card. If this keeps up, I'll have to sell my story to the Enquirer."

Thea couldn't help smiling, although she tried not to. "Oh god, and I so wanted to hate you." She shook her head, disappointed in herself.

Felicity flipped the stereotype, saying, "Well I've got to say, I'm a little disappointed you haven't offered me drugs and a joyride yet."

"Touché," Thea agreed. "All I can offer you these days is vitamin supplements and caffeinated beverages."

"You aren't going to keep TMZ going with that."

Thea shrugged. "I'll just have to have an affair with Johnny Depp, then."

"Really? You like him?"

"He's hot, sexy and rich, what's not to like?" Thea teased.

"Two of the three reasons I like your brother."

Thea grinned. "Just don't tell him you think he's hot or sexy, he's ego is big enough as it is."

They shared a smile.

"Are my ears burning?" Oliver asked, turning to them.

"No," Thea answered, but Felicity's blush belied her words. Not that he minded, as long as she could get along with his family, he was happy, even if it was at his expense.

* * *

Some guests left after the meal, preferring to get home early, but they were all invited to stay for movie afterwards. Felicity wasn't sure how she felt about Laurel staying. It wasn't that she disliked Laurel at all, she was just a _touch_ crazy jealous of her. Felicity trusted Oliver's fidelity but Laurel had been the love of his life, and it was hard not to envy the person who had that place in his life.

In the event, Laurel decided not to stay because her father looked tired. Felicity had rather thought he looked a tiny bit stoned and she had seen him popping a pill before they ate, but given how serious his injuries had been, she reasoned that he was probably on some pretty heavy medication.

In the end, it was just the family and those staying overnight who remained and they retreated to the living room and while the family debated which movie to watch, Felicity was admiring the eight foot high Christmas tree, and the beautiful ornaments that adorned it.

"Felicity," Moira said as she came to stand beside her.

"Mrs Queen."

"Call me Moira, please. Can I get you a drink?"

"No, thank you." Felicity raised her nearly full red wine glass, which she had brought with her from the dining room. "I was just admiring your decorations."

Moira turned her attention to the tree. "We used to have a tree in every room, garlands on every surface but since my husband died… well the tradition died with him."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"Oh, no, you didn't." Moira reached out and picked a crystal reindeer off the tree. "Robert bought this for me, the first year we lived here. Almost every ornament on here has a memory attached."

She put the reindeer back and lightly touched a red bauble with 'Oliver' written in snowflakes.

"We got this for Oliver's first Christmas. He was only seven months old at the time so he didn't appreciate the gesture, but it was our way of including him."

"That's sweet."

Moira smiled, then dropped her hand and turned to face Felicity.

"I can't claim to know much about you, Felicity, although you seem like a very nice girl."

Felicity could practically feel a 'but' coming.

"But I like you, Felicity, and you're the kind of girl who could be hurt by someone like my son."

"We were friend's first," Felicity assured her. "I know all his faults." '_Possibly better than you do," _she silently added.

"Then I've said my piece and we'll talk no more on the subject." Moira smiled.

"Thank you for worrying about me; I was worried you wouldn't like me."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because of the horrendously inappropriate things I sometimes say.

Moira seemed to be trying hard to disguise her mirth.

"Considering the recent scandals this family has endured, and that both my children have been in court for breaking the law, I hardly think a few verbal slips matters, especially since your heart seems to be in the right place.

"Thank you."

"You will continue to work for him, no?"

"Yes, I have no plans to leave."

"Good, because I want to ask you for a favour."

Felicity cringed, dreading what it might be.

"Isabel Rochev is not to be trusted but Oliver can't see it yet. I would like you keep a close eye on her movements and let me know if something suspicious happens."

"I don't want to go behind Oliver's back, Mrs Queen, I mean, Moira."

"And I'm not asking you to. Tell him anything you want, just please make sure that you tell me too."

"How do you know her?" Felicity asked. She knew that Isabel had been on 'the list' but she didn't know what for. Felicity had tried researching all the names on the list but some either weren't criminals, or hid their crimes very well. She had tried researching Isabel again once she made her move to buy QC but her luck hadn't been any better.

"That's a long story," Moira brushed Felicity's question off and since she needed this woman to like her, Felicity didn't press her for information. "No matter what happens, please stay close to Oliver, I have a feeling that he's going to need you very much in the not too distant future."

"I will."

"Good." Moira smiled and walked away, leaving Felicity wondering what that conversation had all been about, and feeling as if she had only been told a very small part of the puzzle.

The Queens reminded her of an iceberg. Each one of them had a visible persona but buried under polite manners and charm, was a mass of secrets and lies that no one could see. Even Oliver was the same. Felicity probably knew more than half of his secrets, but there was still a lot about his time on the island that she didn't know, and that he didn't want to talk about. He wasn't lying to her, but he was hiding the truth from her.

Felicity just hoped that Moira's new secret was not as deadly as her last one, with Malcolm Merlyn.

* * *

"Hey," Roy said as he came to stand beside her.

"Hey."

"I haven't seen much of you the last few days and we didn't get a chance to really talk earlier. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Felicity smiled, pleased that he cared about the damage he'd done.

"Good… I'm glad…"

"Are you okay?" Felicity couldn't help wondering what he wanted with her.

Roy looked down into his wine glass and she almost thought he wouldn't answer her.

"Why did you help me?" he finally asked.

"What do you mean?"

Roy kept his voice low. "I hit you, I kidnapped you, I tied you up, but you still thought I could be a hero. If you hadn't talked him into it, Oliver wouldn't have told me the truth."

"I've seen evil, Roy, it tied me to a chair, much like you did. The difference is, you asked if my bonds were too tight and if I was thirsty. You didn't grope me, or tell me stories about what you could do to me, or to Oliver while I watch, and you didn't relish killing him, even though that was your intention."

Roy frowned.

"You did what you did because you were angry, and it was stupid, but you aren't evil, just mixed up. Believe it to not, Oliver can be a little the same."

"He wouldn't kidnap anyone."

"You sure about that? You've seen his scars and those experienced have had a big impact on him. He can be single minded when he's worried or upset, which can make him do reckless things, like shooting people in the leg to keep them safe. I'm not sure there's a lot that he wouldn't do."

"Why do you help him then?"

"Because he isn't evil either, in fact, I think he's a pretty moral person, he just doesn't always go about things in the best way. Still, I trust him and Diggle with my life and I hope that one day, I can say the same about you."

Roy looked touched by her words.

"Now tell me honestly," she went on. "Did you come here because you love Thea, or because you wanted to upset Oliver?"

Roy didn't answer.

"You know, if it's the former, I'll back you all the way but if it's the latter, Thea deserves better. Oliver was right, she will be in danger and if you really love her, then I know you'll do everything in your power to keep her safe. If you don't though, even without the danger you're putting her in, you need to let her move on so she can find someone who will love her."

"Honestly, I don't know how I feel right now," he admitted. "I care about her, a lot but…"

"Well, it's been a strange few weeks. Just think about it. Deep down you know the answer and once things have calmed down a little, you'll know what to do."

"Thank you."

"So how's the training going?" she asked. She'd had positive reports from Oliver but she wanted Roy's opinion.

"Not bad," he admitted. "Dig's a pretty cool guy. I got to admit too, I didn't realises how much that potion had messed me up."

"Are you okay?" She sounded concerned.

"Yeah, not messed up like that. It's like, it's easier to crush a beer can now but anyone can crush a beer can, even you."

"Okay, you're going to need to dial down the sexism if we're going to work together, but go on."

"Where was I?"

"Beer cans."

"Right, well things like that are easier, and I can chip brick walls but I have to intend to punch them. What I hadn't realised was that when doing almost anything, especially thoughtless actions, I have to be careful."

"Like what?"

"Dig threw me a tennis ball and I almost missed it so when I grabbed it, I split tit open. And bench presses. When I exert myself to lift the bar, I've thrown it feet into the air."

"So you put that dent in the ceiling?"

Roy looked sheepish, "Yeah, sorry."

"It's okay," she assured him.

"Well anyway, I have to learn to re-do a lot of stuff now, but Dig keeps it interesting."

"You like him then?" she asked, although from his enthusiasm, hero-worshipped would have been a better description, but Felicity wasn't completely without tact.

Roy nodded. "He's good people."

"He is," she agreed.

"Felicity, my dear?"

She turned to Moira Queen.

"It seems that you have the casting vote in our Christmas movie choice."

"What about my vote?" Roy asked, perhaps a little offended.

"I voted for you," Thea answered with a smug smile. "And having impeccable taste, you voted with me."

"What are my choices?" Felicity asked Moira.

"Well Oliver, James and I voted for _Gone with the Wind_, while Thea, Roy, and Barry voted for _It's a Wonderful Life_."

Great, so she could upset Thea or Moira, either way, she wouldn't be popular with one family member. "Well they're both great movies but… my favourite Christmas movie was always Die Hard. Can I vote for that?"

"Die hard?" Oliver asked, clearly entertained by her answer. "Not exactly Christmassy."

Thankfully, Moira and Thea looked amused by her answer.

"It's set at Christmas time, has a lot of Christmas songs and the violence is a good way of easing the tension at this time of year. Besides, Gone with the Wind and the civil war don't exactly scream Christmas either."

"Well if this is an open vote, I'm going for Gremlins," James added.

"And I vote for the Nightmare Before Christmas," Roy piped up.

"Oh, I love that movie!" Barry grinned.

"And _this_ free for all, is why we only choose from two movies every Christmas Eve," Oliver explained, although he seemed to be enjoying the fray.

Oliver was on a two seater sofa and positioned so that she could lean back against him, so the decision was really, three hours cuddling in front of his family, or an hour and a half cuddling, but more free time later for… other things.

"_It's a Wonderful Life_," she decided.

"Good choice," Moira said, even although Felicity had voted against her. "Thea?"

Thea jumped up to put the dvd in, while Roy and James moved other chairs and sofas around the television, so they had a better view of the television.

Felicity joined Oliver and he pulled her against him. Although it was a little awkward cuddling with his mom in the room, she gave Felicity a warm smile, as if to say that it was okay with her.

Once the movie began playing, Thea turned the lights down and everyone settled in their places to watch.

Felicity sat with her back against Oliver's chest, his arms around her, hands resting on her stomach, his thumb idly stroking her blouse. The move was about fifteen minutes in, when his fingers slipped through the space between two buttons and he began caressing her skin.

Her breath hitched in her throat and while she was embarrassed to be doing this in front of his family, she was also too embarrassed to say something and draw attention to the act.

Oliver undid a button and slipped his whole hand inside her shirt, trailing his calloused fingertips over her soft skin, causing heat to pool in her pelvis. He opened another button, which gave him enough too to reach up and caress her breast through her bra. Her nipple instantly hardened and her breathing became hard to regulate, requiring most of her concentration to breathe evenly, rather than panting.

He tweaked her nipped through the bra and she only just managed to stifle her gasp.

"You're a dead man, Queen," she hissed, but the gentle rise and fall of his chest told her he was laughing softly.

"But what a way to go," he whispered back.

He switched his attentions to the other breast while he opened another button, allowing his other hand to slip inside her shirt and go lower.

She was half thankful that she had worn jeans, which would make it hard for him to slip his fingers under her waist band, and half wishing she's worn something with an elasticated waist. She would be lying if she said that the risk of getting caught wasn't turning her on.

"If you keep this up, I am never going to sleep tonight," she whispered.

"That's the general idea."

The fact that he knew exactly how much he was turning her on both thrilled and angered her. Two could play this game however, and she slipped a hand behind her back, resting it on the crotch of his jeans. He was half hard and rubbing her hand over the bulge soon caused him to harden completely.

He moaned softly in her ear, which was probably the sexiest sound that she had ever heard.

After a few moments of stimulating him, she arched her back to give herself room to lower his zipper.

"Felicity!" His whisper held a note of warning.

She ignored him and Oliver signalled a retreat, removing his hands and re-buttoning her blouse. She was a little disappointed to realise that their game was over but she knew they were pushing the boundaries and anyway, the film seemed to be nearly over. Where had that last hour gone?

"Well, I think we should call it a night," Oliver said as the credits rolled. "If we're awake, Santa won't come."

Thea threw a pillow at him and with unusually good aim, it hit his head. "Don't worry Ollie, you're on his naughty list anyway," she added.

The night broke up then and after saying their good nights, everyone headed off to bed. Felicity paused outside Oliver's door. "Give it half an hour," she said, stretching up to kiss him. "I'll be waiting, and I'm wearing the red underwear you liked."

His eyes flared, then became hooded with desire, and his hands reached down to hold her butt.

"I also have a present for you," she told him.

"You mean the underwear isn't my present?"

"It's not your colour, wouldn't suit you," she said, deadpan.

"Make it fifteen minutes, and you have a deal."

She couldn't stop the grin from spreading over the lower half of her face.

"And turn your phone off," she said; they had suffered too many interruptions for her to leave anything to chance. "Even heroes deserve a night off now and again."

He nodded his agreement and Felicity stepped back, taking his arm with her since she was unwilling to let go of his hand. Eventually she either had to let him go, or drag him after her, so she opted to let him go, her fingertips caressing his as they separated.

She continued walking backwards until she reached her door, then opened it and turned back. He was still watching her, so she blew him a kiss before disappearing inside.

* * *

"Now I know why cats purr," she said languidly. Her head was resting on his shoulder as her hands traced patterns on his chest.

Oliver chuckled.

"You know, I could have sworn you said you wouldn't sleep with me under my mother's roof."

"Yeah," Felicity laughed. "It seems that when I'm turned on, I have very lose morals."

"You'll get no complaints from me."

She turned her head so he could kiss her.

"So, can I call you Felix now?" he asked.

"Why would you want to? It's one thing for my brother to call me by a boys name but do you really want your friends hearing you say 'Love you, Felix' when you call me?"

"One, that's a little bit homophobic, which I am not, so I'm just going to forget you said that and two, the name Felix is half the size of Felicity."

"It's three letters shorter, five rather than eight, which means it's only 37.5 percent shorter, not half."

"But there is more than one way to measure something. You're working on letters, while I'm going by syllables. Fe-lis-it-y, four syllables, compared to Fe-lix, only two syllables."

"Fine," she smiled. "Besides, only people I adore get to call me Felix, so it's kind of apt that you do."

His teasing smile changed into a broad grin. "You adore me?"

She blushed and considered lying, after all, adore was love in French… or was that amore? Languages were really not her thing, not without Google translate to hand, anyway. Still, she meant it, even if she wasn't ready to say the L-word.

"I do."

He kissed her, not passionately, but reverently.

"I adore you too," he assured her.

Felicity grinned. "So does this mean I have to call you Ollie now?"

"Please don't." The seriousness with which he said that puzzled her. "Ollie is the man I used to be and he was kind of an ass. I like that you don't call me that, because I don't feel lie him anymore."

"All right, Oliver it is but just FYI, Dig was right, it is weird when you refer to yourself in the third person."

He smiled, then noticed her clock.

"It's after midnight," he said. "Merry Christmas."

She checked, then propped her head up on her elbows so she could look at him.

"Merry Christmas. Do you want your present now?"

"You mean, you were serious when you said that wasn't my present?"

"It felt more like my present," she said, blushing. "And I want another present, once I've recovered enough for round two."

"Dating you is going to be harder work than being the vigilante." Oliver smirked.

Felicity sat up and reached into the drawer in her bedside table, withdrawing a flat present wrapped in red paper, about the side of an A4 page.

Curiosity piqued, Oliver unwrapped it and pulled out an envelope, which he also opened and pulled out a certificate. His first thought was that this was a gag gift, declaring him the 'World's Best Boyfriend' or 'Felicity Smoak's Hero' but it was nothing like that.

"What is this?" he asked, sounding serious.

"It's a stock transfer form." It seemed pretty obvious to her, since it was headed 'Stock Transfer Form', in pretty big writing too.

"Okay?"

"Well, I've been meaning to tell you but things were a little bit hectic recently, what with new heroes and kidnapping attempts and catching up at work."

Her tone was almost guilty and he watched her closely. "Okay."

"Queen Consolidated acquired the social media site, Shout, about a month ago, and shares were a part of the deal."

"I remember, that's one of the reasons our profits are up."

"Remember I told you that I had investments?"

"Yeah."

"And that some of those investments were in my friends start-ups?"

"I remember."

"Well one of the companies I invested in was my friend Jim Mortiz's company."

"The man behind the Shout website?"

"Yeah. Not only did I give him two hundred and fifty dollars to help him start up, I designed the program that first powered , which was more valuable that my investment, so I owned 30 percent of that company. Jim owned 45 and other investors owned the rest."

"Why didn't I see your name on the due diligence?"

"Because I have my own company for my investments, FMSInc."

"Felicity Meagan Smoak Incorporated," he smiled as realisation dawned.

"Yeah. Anyway, thanks to the sale of Shout and cashing in some other stocks I own, I was able to buy a little more from the other investors who got shares and … I now own one percent of Queen Consolidated. "

"So you're giving me your shares in my company?"

"Merry Christmas."

"Do you have any idea how much these shares are worth?" He didn't sound happy about his gift.

"I'm a genius, remember? I know exactly what those shares are worth."

"And you're just giving them to me."

Felicity nodded.

"Have you filed notification with teh company yet?"

"No."

"Then I can't let you do this."

Her face fell.

"Felicity, I'm a billionaire, I can't accent a present of this magnitude from someone who earns a fraction of what I do."

She felt a little ebetter that he wasn't angry with her for owning part of his company and not telling him.

"Oliver, this won't leave me short, believe me, I've done my homework and I'd rather you had control of these shares so you can overrule Isabel when you need to. The only reason I haven't sent the forms to QC, is because I don't want her to know about this until you want her to know."

"Then at least allow me to buy them from you, at fair market value."

"This is not a negotiation, Oliver, this is my gift to you and if you don't accept it, I don't have a back up plan. Refusing a gift is rude, you know."

"You are something else," he said with a wide smile.

"Thank you."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I don't know, Queen Consolidated is your baby, and I thought you might feel that I was trying to muscle in or something, or that maybe I was insider trading, although I had nothing to do with the negotiations, it was Jim's financial advisors who told him to ask for shares as part of the deal and I had nothing to do with it. Besides, I don't think handcuffs would look very good on me."

"What are you grinning for?" she asked.

"You rambled. Now that we're a couple, you don't ramble as much," he answered.

"I don't?"

"No. Now when you make an unintentional pun or double entendre, you blush, but you don't ramble. At least, not as much as you used to."

"That's because now you're my boyfriend now, I'm allowed to sexually harass you," she teased.

"I miss it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it was endearing."

"For you, maybe, not for me. And don't worry, I'm sure there are plenty of awkward, non-dating situations, in our future for me to ramble over. The next time one of you is in court, for example. Or just arrested, the handcuffs alone would be enough to start me off."

"You like handcuffs?" he asked, seemingly very amused by her statement.

"No, not really. I mean, I like that they're used to restrain bad guys and all that, they're very effective at doing that, but that's where they should stay, no handcuffs in the bedroom, Mister."

"What about whips?"

"Nope, I don't even like them used on race horses."

"Don't you have any kinky bedroom fantasies?"

"See, now you're just trying to embarrass me."

"Is it working?"

Felicity smirked. "Well, there is one."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, you're not going to leave it there, are you? You have to tell me!"

"I don't have to do anything, Mr Queen," she smirked, enjoying that she had turned the tables. "But I'm not that cruel."

Still, she left a long enough pause before continuing that he started to worry that she wouldn't tell him.

"Leather," she finally admitted.

"You like wearing leather?"

"Me? No. Specifically, green leather." Then she leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "How would you feel about doing it in your arrow outfit?"

"I have a feeling that's one request that I could fulfil, Miss Smoak."

THE END


End file.
